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18 September 2023

Italian majolica: the hand-crafted ceramics of great modern artists

In the vast panorama of our national art and craftsmanship, Italian majolica shines like a precious jewel that has enchanted people for centuries with its timeless beauty and history of artistry and passion.
 
Hand-crafted ceramics played a leading role in the post Second World War art scene thanks to artists who left a lasting mark on the world of art and ceramic decoration. These true masters turned these items into icons that are both loved and celebrated. In this period, the Cooperativa Ceramica d'Imola Artistic Section became a meeting place for artists and personalities from different backgrounds. This included an experimental creative workshop that restyled classic ceramics and revolutionised Italian majolica
 
One of these artists was the architect and designer Gio Ponti, who arrived in Imola by pure chance and went on to create important projects like his Bottiglie Animate (Animated Bottles) and his Garofano Blu (Blue Carnation) ceramics. A motif that restyled the local eighteenth-century tradition of the red carnation. The strong harmony between Gio Ponti and Domenico Minganti, the company's Artistic Director at the time, led to the creation of unique works that combined the art of classic ceramics with Ponti's revolutionary design.
 

Italian majolica: a combination of art and ceramics

Some exhibitions, such as "Artecotta" in 1984, have reflected further on the relationship between ceramics and art and raw materials and ceramics, with surprising results. From Aldo Spoldi to Germano Sartelli, and from Arnaldo Pomodoro to Joe Tilson, numerous artists have found ceramics to be a means of expression that allows them to experiment and transform their ideas into fascinating works of art. Hand-crafted ceramics have become a medium that explores the boundary between the visible and the invisible, energy and matter, the traditional and the contemporary.
To conclude, this journey through the modern era of Italian majolica is one that embraces tradition, innovation and artistic collaboration. Art and ceramics merge together, creating works that are unique and extremely important for the history of Italian art and craftsmanship.
Categories:
Ceramics
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