Porcelain games of shadow and lace
- Antonella crafts contemporary pieces with a nod to 16th century Italian traditions
- She is also inspired by the ceramic heritage of Japan, China and Korea where she often travels
- Her work has been exhibited internationally
Born and raised in Faenza, it was nearly impossible for Antonella Cimatti not to become involved in ceramics. Her family supported her creativity and interest towards the arts. She pursued studies at the well-known Ballardini Art Institute for Ceramics in Faenza and then the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. In 1979 Antonella opened her first workshop and started teaching. The potential of the craft led her to experiment and research, with her focus throughout the years being on new materials and how to incorporate them into her designs. Eclectic and innovative, Antonella's starting point is a reinterpretation of the artistic production of the past. In 2005 she switched from majolica to porcelain, which better reflected the evolution of her research towards lightness.
INTERVIEW
In the last 20 years I have worked with porcelain and through my research I have devised my personal technique and paste. It came thanks to a process of trial and error, a special extrusion to make decorative patterns using a syringe. This decoration has a double function, as it can be detached, becoming a light, perforated shape on its own.
I have always been drawn to experimentation. Recently, I developed installations in sintered alumina substrates, an advanced ceramic material.
They have always intrigued me, maybe because of my interest in the Far East and its culture. I use an advanced ceramic material to create silhouettes that through shadows reproduce objects made in Faenza in the Renaissance, a sort of virtual museum where past meets future.
It is impossible to innovate without acknowledging tradition. For instance, I look at the crespine, the 16th century majolica creations, and I revisit them, creating a contemporary and light porcelain version, with openwork that reminds of lace.
