Events

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Franco Meneguzzo – Unique vs series artworks 1951- 1962

Until May 12, 2012
Turin, Italy

Italian Ceramics - The gauntlet and the challenge, 1959Twenty 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

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Keramina – Italian Pottery Fair

April 6-7, 2012
Cecina Tuscany – Italy

Italian pottery fairA 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Giuliano Giganti – To Rebuild a Man

October 2-23, 2011
Gubbio, Italy

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.

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Giacomo Alessi – 50 Ceramic Sculptures in London

Sept. 28 – Oct. 11, 2001
London, UK

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 handcrafted 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. Continue reading →

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Todi – Summer & Wiese – We were there

Sept. 4 – Oct. 30, 2011
Todi, Italy

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

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Gian Genta – Ou allez-vous, la belle?

Until Sept. 5th, 2011
Sanremo, Italy

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.

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Alessandro Kokocinski – Earth and Fire

August 6 – Sept. 10, 2011
Montefalco – Italy

Make sure to save the date because this exhibition is not to be missed.

Alessandro Kokocinski is a powerful interpreter of the human soul, of its spiritual tensions and longings. His works exude pathos and drama: every feeling is allowed, except indifference.

The Russian fantastic world, the Latin America passion and realism, the 17th century Italian chiaroscuro blend in his paintings and surface from his sculptures, creating a wave of energy that grabs the staring viewer without any warning.

This exhibition will focus on the artist’s terracotta sculptures. The Bontadosi Art Gallery will host most of the works, but one, the large terracotta installation known as “Jacob’s ladder”, that will be set in the wonderful scenario of the former Church of Santa Maria in Piazza.

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Luigi Ontani – RossiniAria

July 23 – Sept. 25, 2011
Pesaro, Italy

Ontani’s solo exhibition is a tribute to Pesaro, the city of Gioacchino Rossini, the composer of The Barber of Seville, and the city that has become prominent within Italy for his long-established tradition of pottery making and the long list of ceramic artists who lived and worked here, like Ferruccio Mengaroni and Nanni Valentini.

Between the previous Chiesa del Suffragio and the Loggiato, eight large ceramic sculptures, the ErmEstEtiche, portrait relevant historical characters. Among them RossiniAria, the sculpture that the artist has made especially for this exhibition. As it often happens in Ontani’s  works, the artist himself plays the role of Rossini, combining a number of symbolic, literary, artistic and historical elements.

In the middle of the previous Chiesa del Suffragio stands the ErmafroDito Mignolo, a large ceramic sculture. On the walls the Vizi Capitelli, a collection of eight ceramic capitals that represent the seven deadly sins or capital vices plus one, added by the artist. It’s the capital of the boastfulness that plays with the suggestions of romanesque sculpture.

Commenting his Vizi Capitelli the artist says that they are not the Stations of the Cross but the Stations of the Pleasure Seeking. The space of the exhibition is sacred to the artist, even though the Church is not so anymore.

The exhibition includes some photo-ceramics too: Saint Sebastian, NarciGiuda, Saint Paul, Ecce Homo and Tobiolo.

Centro Arti Visive Pescheria
Corso XI Settembre 184, Pesaro
Ph: +39 721 387651
Email: centroartivisive@comune.pesaro.pu.it

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Todi – Summer & Wiese

Sept. 4 – Oct. 30, 2011
Todi, Italy

I know, I know… it’s not Italian pottery … Still it’s most beautiful pottery and we feel it’s just right to promote the hard work of the Ab Ovo Gallery in bringing to us the works of Roland Summer and Christina Wiese, two well established Austrian artists with a wide International reputation.

Roland Summer is a master of technical perfection. He makes mostly vases slowly hand building his shapes adding layer after layer from the bottom up. This process, known as coil building, is the earliest pottery making method and it offers the highest degree of control over the size and shape of wares.

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