Poland – Second stage of the exhibition "Mater Ceramica" curated by MIC Faenza
The exhibition Mater Ceramica, a living and contemporary material is a selection of works from the collections of the MIC International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza that recounts, through twenty works by recognized authors, the extraordinary formal, technical and poetic adventure of Italian ceramic from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, providing a historical and contemporary aspect of a language that is as ancient as it is alive.
In a path that illustrates the evolution of Italian artistic ceramic, the exhibition also delves into the new affirmation of ceramic production under the ‘Made in Italy’ label since World War II and enables to grasp the popularity ceramics has been experiencing in recent years.
After being on display until the beginning of March at the Italian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, Mater Ceramica will be on view at the Museum of Ceramics in Boleslawiec from April 11 to June 15.
The itinerary starts with the art nouveau period –that in Italy took the name of ‘Liberty’–, with works by Domenico Baccarini and Galileo Chini; this is followed by Gio Ponti's design related to the production of great manufacturers such as Richard-Ginori, the eclectic evolutions of Arturo Martini's and Francesco Nonni’s déco taste, to arrive at the true contemporaneity of language: from the 1950s onwards, with works by Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Leoncillo, Nanni Valentini, Antonia Campi, Carlo Zauli, Alfonso Leoni, Guerrino Tramonti and Enrico Baj, to the contemporary production, with the hyperrealist works by Bertozzi&Casoni and the material ones by Giacinto Cerrone, Antonio Violetta and Alessandro Roma.
To each of these works, the Boleslawiec Museum places a valuable Polish work, similar in typology, dimensions and historical period, thus developing an extraordinary dialogue between the two great Italian and Polish ceramic traditions from the beginning of the twentieth century to today.
The exhibition is organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in Krakow in collaboration with the Museum of Ceramics in Boleslawiec as part of the Italian Design Day 2025 programme and opens within the Made in Italy Day 2025.
The exhibition was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Emilia-Romagna Region.