On March 13th a grand opening celebrated the permanent exhibition of 60 works by Nino Caruso, donated by the artist to the city of Torgiano (Umbria).

Caruso is Italy’s most renowned contemporary ceramic artist, internationally acclaimed both for his works and for his studies.

The collection is an ideal overview on his evolution as an artist since the Fifties, when he started to use traditional shapes – steles, columns, vases, oil lamps – as references for modern contemporary ceramic art.

In a very distinctive way, Nino Caruso breaks with Italian ceramic traditions while reflecting in his works a thorough understanding and appreciation of those traditions. Similarly, he embodies the European humanism while freely using forms and techniques from Japan such as haniwa and raku.

He really makes people look at clay in a new way, always ready to point out its endless expressive possibilities. Tradition, improvisation and intuition are the factors that better describe his works. All the techniques he uses – even the ancient Japanese Raku technique – are revised based on his personal knowledge and taste.

After many years spent working on modular sculptures made through slipcasting, Caruso has recently gone back to hand shaping. His “oniric” works are inspired by memories, fragments of real events, places visited, imagination. Symbolic human faces, enigmatic architectural structures, soft lines combined with sharp geometries, artful combinations of light and shade are the trademarks of his latest works, where silvery effects and precious shades with metal reflections are carefully blended thanks to a perfect control of the firing process.

Some facts from his biography:
Nino Caruso career as an artist started in 1956. Ever since his works have been exhibited all over the world and they have been awarded many prizes. Here is a selection of his exhibitions:

• 2008 Rocca Paolina in Perugia (Italy)
• 2002 SOFA in New York and Loveed Fine Arts in New York (USA)
• 2001 Borgognona Gallery in  Rome, D’A Gallery in Viterbo, Fondazione Lungarotti in Torgiano (Italy), Italy
• 2000 Japanese Cultural Institute in Rome (Italy)
• 1993 Garth Clark Gallery in New York (Usa)
• 1989 Nino Caruso, National Gallery of Kyoto, Ashahi Gallery (Japan), National Gallery of Seoul, (Korea)
• 1985 Bonsocours Gallery in Montreal (Canada)
• 1982 Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo and Tokoname Ceramic Art Research Centre in Tokyo (Japan)
• 1980 American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C. (USA)
• 1978 The Tweed Museum, Duluth, MN (USA).

In addition to these events, his works were part of the Ceramic Art Exhibition & Workshop in Rome in 2008. He has also contributed to one of the editions of the Exhibition of Oil Lamps, organized by the Lungarotti Foundation, a most celebrated event which has been challenging the creative energies of many important artists in the last decade.

Caruso has given courses, lectures and workshops in several universities of the United States, Japan, Canada, Egypt, Korea, China and Europe. His works are in many museums and private collections in Italy, USA, Germany, Japan, Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, to mention but some of them.

He is the author of books about pottery techniques and of TV programs on the Art of Ceramic.
Caruso made ceramic architectural installation for urban spaces, such as the City Hall in Hogahara, (Japan), a subway station in Marseille (France), the railway station in Gijon (Spain), the Ceramic Cultural Park in Shigaraki (Japan), the Rotunda of Columns in Coimbra (Portugal).

Nino Caruso
Palazzo Malizia
Piazza della Repubblica, 9
Torgiano
Ph: 0039 075 9886037