Last Saturday I went to visit an interesting exhibition in Tuscania. It has been organized by one of my favorite ceramic artists – Mirna Manni – and it’s about WOMEN.

The exhibition features the work of nine artists who have shown thru their works who many different meanings and shades can be used to depict the female universe.

Every artist has contributed with her own expressive medium. Ceramic sculptures and installations, digital photography, mixed media, paintings …

The outcome is the image of a woman who suffers, struggles, wait, plays, defies the rules yet preserves her intimate, powerful femininity. I enjoyed every work – especially ceramics, my favorite.

I wish to thank Mirna for acting as a guide. She made me feel priviledged.

Magazzini della Lupa
Via della Lupa 10 – Tuscania

Foto credits: Magazzini della Lupa

The exhibition, the first of many to come I’m sure, is hosted in the former stables of Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati. Recently  transformed into a museum, the16th century building is just perfect to display contemporary ceramic art.

I visited it last Sunday and although my expectations were very high because I already knew the work of some of the artists, at least thru some pictures, I still was surprised to find how good, meaningful and diverse the exhibition is and how it succeeds in capturing the current trends of Italian ceramic art.

I was happy to meet Jasmine Pignatelli, whose giant sized seeds and roots – thriving elements of a vital and raped world – I had always admired but never quite understood from the cold screen of my computer.

The 13 artists who contributed to this wonderful initiative are Silvia Calcagno, Elettra Cipriani, Guido De Zan, Fabrizio Dusi, Marino Ficola, Antonio Grieco, Annalisa Guerri, Massimo Luccioli, Rita Miranda, Riccardo Monachesi, Simone Negri, Jasmine Pignatelli and Sprout.

I took pictures of some of the works I’d like to share with you. They are not representative of the whole content of the exhibition – I’m forced to admit that my poor technical skills could not effectively deal with the challenges of the strong afternoon light that flooded the room.  Not a big deal though because you’ll be forced to go and see by yourself!

Twenty ceramic works by a major Italian ceramic artist and a subject that became a very hot in the Sixties and still is: art and design, unique artwork and serial production.

Franco Meneguzzo stated his point thru his work. He challenged traditional boundaries between art and design and opened to a limited edition of some of his works. A strong believer of the value of craftsmanship and “ownership” he personally followed all the production steps of his pieces, making sure that the end result was in no way different from his project.

Terre d’Arte Gallery hosts a prominent selection of Meneguzzo’s works between 1951 and 1962. A great opportunity to see side by side unique and limited edition pieces and … try to spot the difference.

Franco Meneguzzo – L’unico e la Serie, Ceramiche 1951- 1962
Galleria Terre d’Arte
Via Maria Vittoria 20/A, Torino
Ph: +39 011 19503453
Email: info@terredarte.net

A large number of well established Italian ceramicists, live demos of pottery making techniques, an interesting contest “Vote for the best ceramic cactus”, the Tuscan sun (not granted, but hopefully nice and warm …). Lots of reasons to go to Cecina, a nice village on the coast of Tuscany.

Small talk is not among my qualities, so I immediately asked her about her work. Her posture changed, her eyes lit and Mirna the charming lady gave way to Mirna the artist who bewitched me with her contagious passion for clay and her astonishing technical knowledge.

Following our conversation she sent me some pictures of her works, which I found absolutely interesting. Still I was hesitant to write an article about Mirna without having actually seen her pieces, which I longed to do, by the way. The announcement of her new solo exhibition in Tuscania unclenched my silent hurray!

I was among the first to arrive to the opening but Mirna was already busy with her guests so I got the chance to explore her work by myself and savor its deep emotional dimension and strong formal character.

Later on, Mirna joined me and delicately led me into her creative world, explaining how she’s been experimenting with shapes, different types of clay and  techniques to unveil the mystery of birth and the continuous flowing of life into nature.

Mirna has been digging into her memories, she has been exploring layered joys and pains, conscious and unconscious doubts, unanswered questions, turning them into actual sculptures, symbols of a soul – her soul, our soul – that breaks free from its earthly ties only to better understand them. The leitmotiv of her work is life, its frailty and sacred beauty, and, by mere consequence, death. Her nature inspired shapes are always open, to let life in and to evolve into a next step, a destiny they foresee and embrace.

At the entrance of the gallery there was a cloud of white, pearlescent cocoons hanging from the ceiling. A few steps ahead large seeds were scattered on the wall, positive symbols of a new, vital breath.

Right in the centre of the gallery, nine boxes were lying on the floor, each containing a black mask and a tidy pile of painstaking handwritten letters, paperclay sheets containing thoughts, memories, short stories… crumbs of a lifetime on earth.

Most people, including myself, stood dumb mouthed in front of an installation named “So spin the Fates”. The Fates, or Moirae, were the three Greek goddesses of Fate. Klotho spinned the thread of life, Lakhesis measured it and Atropos cut it.
Large, full, black and white shapes gaily hanged from the ceiling by thin, almost invisible threads, others were losing their vital breath and some were laying on a rich brown soil, completely empty. You could swear they were knitted, but no. They were really made of clay…

In a corner of the gallery black pods with white filaments were set to form a ladder to heaven. On the floor white body parts. A free quotation of the Pythagorean idea of the transmigration of the soul into a new life. Mirna produced this installation last year. She was mourning her mother and at the same time opening an art gallery, a powerful coincidence in her life: again life and death, white and black, fullness and emptiness.

Leaving the gallery was not easy. Somehow Mirna’s powerful works seemed to call me back, inviting me to a deeper understanding. So many vital questions in her objects, so many gifts to unwrap.
Thanks, Mirna.

About Mirna Manni

Mirna was born in Tuscania, where she lives. She started out as a painter, then she started sculpting. Eager to learn and experiment, she used many techniques and materials and explored different art forms, finally finding in clay the ideal medium for her self-expression.
In her own worlds “Clay and I are emotionally tuned. Clay is the mirror of my energy and its molding is a magic process”. Mirna has been using different techniques, raku, terra sigillata, engobe, always achieving a stunning technical perfection.

She is the co-founder of “I Magazzini della Lupa”, an art gallery and cultural center open to any form of contemporary art, from theatrical projects to applied arts, from dance to painting performances. A great place for young as well as established artists to show their work.

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Incontro con l’artista: Mirna Manni

Ho incontrato Mirna Manni lo scorso anno, a Tuscania. Ero là per una mostra d’arte e mi fu presentata come una delle fondatrici della galleria e una artista ceramista molto brava. Questo naturalmente ha fatto scattare il mio interesse…

Chiacchierare del più e del meno non mi è congeniale, quindi le chiesi subito informazioni sui suoi lavori. Vidi i suoi occhi illuminarsi e la donna seria e composta che avevo di fronte tramutarsi in Mirna l’artista, che mi ha conquistato con la sua contagiosa passione per l’argilla e le sue mirabili conoscenza tecniche.

In seguito Mirna mi ha inviato foto dei suoi lavori. Assolutamente interessanti. Tuttavia avevo delle riserve di principio nello scrivere di un artista senza aver visto le sue opere da vivo, cosa che tra l’altro desideravo moltissimo. Grande è stata quindi la mia gioia quando ho saputo di delle sua imminente mostra a Tuscania.

Sono arrivata tra i primi all’inaugurazione. Mirna era già presa da alcuni ospiti e questo mi ha dato l’opportunità di guardare i suoi lavori senza nessuna preparazione, assaporandone il forte impatto emotivo e la grande forza formale.

Più tardi Mirna mi ha raggiunto e, delicatamente, pesando le parole, mi ha condotto nel suo mondo creativo, spiegandomi come la sua ricerca formale e tecnica si sia incentrata sulla rappresentazione del mistero della nascita e del continuo fluire della vita.
Scavando nella memoria, analizzando la sua personale stratificazione di gioie e dolori, di dubbi consci ed inconsci, di domande irrisolte Mirna è riuscita a oggettivarli nelle sue sculture, simboli di un’anima – la sua anima, e la nostra – che si libera dei suoi vincoli terreni solo per comprenderli meglio.

Il filo conduttore del suo lavoro è la vita, la sua fragilità, la sua sacra bellezza, e, per pura conseguenza, la morte. Le sue forme, ispirate dalla natura, sono sempre aperte per lasciare fluire la vita. Sembrano pronte all’ineluttabilità dell’evolversi, abbracciando un destino che presentono e che sono felici di accogliere.

All’entrata della galleria d’arte c’era una nuvola di bozzoli, affascinanti della loro opalescenza. Più avanti grandi semi sparsi sul muro, simboli positivi di un respiro nuovo e vitale.

Al centro della sala, sul pavimento, nove scatole contenevano ciascuna una maschera nera e una mucchietto ordinato di lettere, sottilissimi fogli in paperclay sui quali l’artista ha minuziosamente inciso pensieri, ricordi, storie … briciole dallo spazio di una vita su questa terra.

Insieme a molti altri visitatori ho sostato a lungo di fronte ad una superba installazione dal nome evocativo “Così filano le Parche”. Nell’Antica Grecia le tre Parche rappresentavano il Destino: Cloto filava lo stame della vita,  Lachesi lo svolgeva sul fuso e Atropo lo recideva.
Nell’opera di Mirna grandi forme rigonfie di alito vitale pendevano dal soffitto appese a sottilissimi fili. Altre, anche loro appese, avevano perso la loro pienezza e ciondolavano spente. In terra, adagiate su uno strato di terra fragrante altre forme ormai sgonfie, giacevano morbidamente. Non mi vergogno di dire che ho dovuto toccarle per essere sicura che fossero di ceramica, tanto la loro trama e la morbidezza della forma richiamava alla mente la filatura delle Parche…

In un angolo della sala, baccelli neri con filamenti bianchi erano disposti a formare una scala verso il cielo. Ai piedi della scala poveri resti umani, a simboleggiare il passaggio dell’anima dei morti dalla sepoltura all’aldilà come lo avevano narrato Pitagora e i suoi seguaci.
Mirna ha creato questa opera lo scorso anno, in un momento molto importante della sua vita, divisa tra la perdita della madre e la nascita della galleria d’arte. Una coincidenza potente, pregna di vita e di morte, di bianco e nero, di pienezza e di vuoto.

Lasciare la mostra non è stato facile. In qualche modo il lavoro di Mirna sembrava invitarmi a restare per capire di più e più profondamente. Così tanti quesiti vitali animano le sue opere, così tanti regali da scartare. Grazie, Mirna.

Cenni biografici – da un testo dell’artista

Vivo e lavoro a Tuscania, dove sono nata il 29 gennaio 1958. Esordisco artisticamente come pittrice per poi preferire la scultura ed ho esposto in mostre personali e collettive tra Orvieto,Tuscania, Roma, Varese, Tarquinia, Viterbo, Soriano nel Cimino, Bracciano, in luoghi pubblici e privati. Ho condiviso per anni un progetto all’interno di un gruppo con il quale ho sviluppato molteplici esperienze creative. Nella mia individuale ricerca, ho trovato nell’argilla la materia più affine per la realizzazione dei miei lavori. C’è subito stata una sorta di sintonia emotiva con essa; è specchio della  mia energia e lavorarla è sempre un processo magico. Ho frequentato corsi di ceramica e ceramica raku, approfondendo questo mio interesse, tecniche e procedure.

Giuliano Giganti is one of those artists who have a clear perception of the perpetual changes occurring around them and their impact on our fragility.

The man he describes in his work is weak and confused, his values shattered. He has lost his balance. There is no way back. A new system of values, new ideals are necessary. Giuliani discreetly suggests to follow the path of simplicity, of nature: a well plowed soil and fertile seeds are the humble yet essential ingredients for a healthy crop.

His earthenware pieces are (meta)physical containers of ideals, principles and messages that the artist wishes to save for the future.

Giuliani is fond of geometry. Combining lines and shapes in multiple ways, the artist paints his man, a strong man, and surrounds him with natural elements and daily objects, each a symbolic fragment of his complex philosophy.

Primary colors, black and white vividly highlight his truth, both in his traditionally shaped engobed ceramics and in his raku pieces, where the surfaces are engraved and manipulated to become sculptures.

Breaking up in order to rebuilt: some works are presented in pieces, clods of clay to form a field or fragments of feeling to form a man.

Giuliano Giganti – Per ricomporre l’uomo
Galleria Della Porta
Corso Garibaldi 33, Gubbio
Ph: +39 075 9220693
Email: info@iat.gubbio.pg.it

Giacomo Alessi’s work celebrates the glorious past of Sicilian ceramics while going for its renewal.
A deep understanding of Caltagirone’s millennial tradition of pottery making combined with a profound love for the complex and fascinating art of creating a meaningful something out of wet clay is the secret of Alessi’s sculptures.

Along with his hand crafted production – famous throughout the world – Giacomo Alessi has also been making his own “private” works. He takes pride, rightful pride, in showing his collection to a few privileged friends. But art cannot be concealed or silenced… his visitors spread the news and Giacomo has rapidly won international recognition.

Manuela and I met Giacomo Alessi in Caltagirone in 2007. We were starting our fine Italian ceramics web store and Giacomo was probably the very first artist we invited to join our project. A hesitant “let’s try…” was enough for us to fly to Sicily and visit him in his workshop.

Giacomo is an impressively vital, intelligent, genial person and a very friendly one. He opened his workshop and his house to us. Watching him shape the clay is a memorable experience, not less so listening to his stories about the origins of traditional Sicilian ceramics.

The last afternoon we spent in Caltagirone is so vivid in our minds. After lunch he casually asked: “Would you girls like to visit my private collection?” Of course! We drove downtown, to a large flat that he uses as a private museum. Wow … Hundreds of pieces – unique ceramic sculptures and small installations – were displayed in every single room, crowding shelves, walls, ad hoc stands. Manuela and I were amazed by the quality of Alessi’s pieces and enormously delighted to have the artist himself guide us through his work.  It was one of those special moments in life that won’t be forgotten.

Bernard Chauchet, the owner of a contemporary art gallery in London, was also granted the rare privilege of a private tour in Alessi’s sanctuary, which inspired him to invite Alessi to exhibit his works in London. Displaying fifty ceramic sculptures, the exhibition opened a few days ago and it.

Featured in some of the most important exhibitions of ceramics at the national and international level, Giacomo Alessi was also invited to the 54th Venice Biennale this year. He was made a knight of the Italian Republic in 2007 and he is also a signatory of the “Manifesto for the Applied Arts of the New Century” and included in the book of Living Human Treasures of the UNESCO Register of Intangible Heritage for Sicily.

Bernard Chauchet Contemporary Art
55 Hollywood  Road
London – SW10 9HX
Email: bernard@chauchet.com

Click to view our collection of Giacomo Alessi’s ceramics
Click to purchase the book about Giacomo Alessi: Giacomo Alessi e le ceramiche. Una lunga tradizione per il futuro. Italian and English edition.
Click to purchase Giacomo Alessi’s book : Fiasche, lumere, cànteri e cannate. Ceramica d’uso a Caltagirone tra Cinque e Ottocento by Giacomo Alessi and Giuseppe L. Danzuso

The exhibition featuring the works of Roland Summer and Christina Wiese opened last Sunday and we were there to meet the artists.

The Ab Ovo Gallery truly deserves a round of applause for a job well done. Not only are they introducing to the Italian public the work of two artists with an excellent International reputation, but the quality and quantity of the pieces on display is outstanding.

Meeting Roland and Christina was so special.

Roland told us about the pottery making techniques of ancient cultures and how he used them to achieve the result he wanted. The process he invented, called Lost Glaze, is time consuming, with a high degree of unpredictability and may lead to many failures along the way. Yet, the formal perfection of his pieces is astonishing.

Christina‘s work is completely different. As Roland put it, whereas his vases are empty, Christina’s pieces are full… And it’s absolutely true!

Plenty of symbols merge in her celebrated vessels. She makes them adding to a hand molded hull many small objects that she collects during her walks in the countryside or when travelling. Each object, she said, has a story to tell: someone used it, loved it, lost it. When she decides to pick it up and to use it for her ships, the object becomes a part of something that is entirely new and a new cycle begins. By definition, each vessel is unique, just like our life journey.

Her attraction for symbols and for “fullness” has also inspired her “symbolons”. Solid shapes, made of two or more pieces, that enclose small treasures: a stone, a feather, a piece of an ancient Chinese vase…

Summer & Wiese
Ab Ovo Gallery
Via del Forno 4, Todi (Perugia)
Ph. 075 8945526
Email: info@abovogallery.com

Italian flags were waving from all the balconies, softening the severe look of Turin’s ancient building and giving to the whole place a festive look. Each museum and city attraction had organized its own special event to celebrate the Risorgimento, the political and military movement that led to the unification of Italy, and the city key role in its success.

To make the most out of my days in Turin I had a carefully planned out schedule, a balanced mix of art, sightseeing and good food (of course!). And when it comes to art, ceramics are always on top of my mind! Here you go: a short but juicy report of Italian pottery in Turin 2011.

My first stop was at the Terre d’Arte Gallery, in Via Maria Vittoria, one of the few art galleries in Italy specializing in ceramics. I met the owner, Nino Rigano, a man with an extraordinary knowledge concerning Italian art ceramics. It was truly a pleasure to get to know him and I regret I didn’t spend more time in the gallery!

I spent a whole day at the Grandi Officine Riparazioni, enjoying the amazing exhibitions about the past and future of Italy. Guided by my instinct and a quick preliminary research I made my way thru the Galleria delle Botteghe, a space hosting Italian creative excellence in arts & crafts. The first object that I caught sight of what a red round vase with a bizarre animal on top. No need to read the label. It was a piece of Mirta Morigi: her style is hard to mistake. I also noticed an unlabeled wall plate with red, green and white bowls pasted on it which I’m sure was also made by Mirta.

A Castellamonte stove stood in one corner: a solid, austere representative of the ancient tradition of the city in the making of ceramic stoves.

One of the stands or bottega hosted the works made by Elica, a design studio from Faenza and Bologna. Elica is the name that two established artists, Carlo Pastore and Elisabetta Bovina, have been using to label their works since 1995. They combine ceramics with other materials (glass, wood, textiles), designing and producing furniture, jewels, sculptures, decoration accents and home furnishings, (almost) all of which were represented in their bottega: three mesmerizing dresses, a large group of vases from the collection “Venosi” and the fascinating wall installation “Nymphea”.

Another bottega hosted “Unity in Diversity”, Ugo La Pietra’s art project. I had already watched some pictures of the ceramic heads representing Italian regions and I kind of gave them for granted… but no, the “ensemble” is so powerful and, at the risk of sound irreverent, so FUNNY. Although every head proudly asserts its distinctiveness, all together the pieces celebrate Caltagirone pottery heritage and its successful attempt to evolve while keeping in touch with tradition.

After the Galleria delle Botteghe I entered the exhibition Il Futuro nelle mani. Artieri domani (The Future in the hands. Artificers tomorrow), hosted in a huge open space. Dedicated to applied arts, the exhibition echoes the International expos of industry and work held in Turin in 1911 and 1961 and features Italy’s finest crafts and designers’ and artists’ works.

I didn’t expect to find so many Italian ceramic artists there! The first I spotted was Danilo Melandri with his hyper-realistic industrial component that he pairs with miniature ceramic plaques. Fascinated by the huge machines operating in the heavy industries, he values them as much as the great architectural achievement of our past. You can tell he is not at ease with the regular scale!

Also inspired by mechanics, Alfonso Leoni challenged the rules of pottery making. In the Sixties he made nails, bolts, mysterious gears, small armoured cars and tanks that he ironically displayed in opposition to any warfare ideology. Intrigued by the extruder that Alessio Tasca was using in Nove, he used it to make his most famous works, the fists. He died in 1980, when he was only 39 years old, after having assured to his art a place in the Museum of Ceramics in Faenza.

The 360 degree “continuous portrait” of Giuseppe Garibaldi claimed my attention with its bright color. It was a piece made by Claude Aiello, an Italian-French artist who is known to be a real wizard in wheel throwing. A positive example of technical excellence.

I could not go past Palazzo Madama, in the heart of downtown Turin, without paying a visit to Luigi Mainolfi’s ceramic installation “Turin looking at the sea”, set right at the top of the ceremonial staircase of this prestigious building. Mainolfi is known as one of the most relevant post conceptual Italian artists. Since 1996 he has been making ceramic portraits of his friends and acquaintances: actors, writers, artists, photographers, collectors, craftsmen, doctors, lawyers… 208 busts made of Castellamonte clay that play with the traditional terracotta portrait stereotype. Tiny doors and windows are engraved on every bust: it’s the urban landscape of Turin leaving its imprinting on its citizens. All of them looking at the sea…

A visit to the Modern Art Gallery gave me an unexpected gift (I love unexpected gifts!): the permanent collection had just been rearranged and new works were on display. Among them two breathtaking ceramic sculptures made by Fausto Melotti, both titled “Little Woman”. Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) is one of the most important Italian artists of the 20th century. Ceramicist, painter and sculptor, he fell in love with clay in 1942 never stopped using it to nourish his creative expression.

Well … what else? An invitation to visit Turin before November 2011. Believe me, it’s a real treat.

Forty pieces made in the last five years to represent the true engine of our being: women. Essential, elegantly decorated, charmingly archaic women.

Creatively exuberant, expressionist, primitive and, more than everything else, deeply truthful,
Gian Genta is a self made artist who has always, stubbornly, refused academic principles, managing to be faithful only to his own inspiration.

During the Sixties and the Seventies he was part of the prominent group of Italian artists who met in Albisola. Particularly attracted by the works of Sassu, Fabbri e Fontana, he made friends also with Lam, Jorn, Rossello, Salino, Siri, Sabatelli, Bonelli.

His managerial career and his strong political passions absorbed all his energy in the following decades, until, at the dawn of the new millennium he decided to leave politics behind and go for a new start. Quoting from his website: “In the years after 2000 I retrieved the soul of a restless artist who has found in his mature years many things that he still needs to say”.

A crucial experience for his ceramic art was his experimenting with third firing in Turi D’Albisola’s studio, where he made heads, busts, statuettes which represent his distinctive point of view on today’s human condition.

As a modern knight-errant he has been working in many of his fellow artists’ studios, his latest hosts being Sandro Soravia and Paolo Anselmo in Albisola.

Gian Genta – Où allez-vous, la belle?
Nyala Suite Hotel
via Solaro 134, Sanremo
Ph: +39 0184 667 668