Cristiano Balbi was born in Murano on March 28, 1956. Son of art, he enters the world of glass at the age of only nine, starting as a boy in his father's furnace, and gradually covering all the stages according to the ancient glassmaking tradition: apprentice, serventino, servant up to master glassmaker. He remains in this furnace for twelve years and acquires a great and invaluable experience in all stages of processing. At the age of twenty-one, now a trained master, he left his father's furnace and began collaborating with the oldest and most qualified furnaces in Murano: Barovier & Toso, Mazzuccato, Bisazza, Ars, etc. In 1982 he opened his own studio and immediately showed that he was one of the most complete and innovative artists of "lampwork glass", a technique in which he applied the forms and techniques acquired in the furnace, determining a real turning point in the expression of this special glass processing. His works are exhibited in various exhibitions and museums, he collaborates with various contemporary artists such as Dalisi and Robert Wilson, he creates the reproductions of Fenice and Celt works for Eco Italia which are exhibited at the Palazzo Grassi exhibitions in Venice