Made of terracotta. Fictile. This is how craftsmanship in its most contemporary forms becomes exhibition material in the halls of Triennale Milan from 4 September to 31 October 2021.

Thanks to a collaboration with Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri dell’Arte, which continues its “Crafts Culture” cycle of exhibitions dedicated to artistic crafts, this display offers an overview of this ancient technique based on the use of a ductile earthen material giving rise to hand-modelled fired objects.

Curated by Italian artist, architect, designer and theorist Ugo la Pietra, the exhibition unfolds through symbols, shapes and raw materials, restoring ceramics to the forefront of Italian applied arts. “The earliest expressions of Italian material culture, as those of every Mediterranean country, is linked to ceramic work. A culture that has developed over centuries, up to the present day, describing and representing habits and rituals, in relation to different social behaviours: formal and decorative expressions, always charged with a high artistic value” affirms Ugo La Pietra. Following “Mirabilia” curated by Alberto Cavalli, which brought together a series of examples of high Milanese craftsmanship, and “Vitrea”, the exhibition dedicated to designer glass curated by Jean Blanchaert, the rooms of Triennale will soon display a new facet of art and craftsmanship, with objects that besides corresponding to a function become decorative items capturing a particular moment in time, an idea, a story.

Opening image: Martha Pachon Rodriguez, Sea flowers, 2019. Courtesy Martha Pachon Rodriguez. Photo Raffaele Tassinari