Martina Geroni

Ceramicist | Genoa, Italy

Being present in the here and now

Martina's ceramic work is entirely made on the wheel
She creates carefully considered collections as opposed to single items
She collaborates with restaurant chefs

Martina Geroni’s professional journey began as an architect. While she was working in an architecture firm in Mexico she decided that architecture was not her path. While in Mexico, she saw a video of ceramic artist Gustavo Perez working at the wheel, and she was hooked. In 2017 Martina was back in her home country, reflecting on what she wanted to do professionally. She was reminded of how much she had enjoyed working with clay in middle school, and this was the last push she needed to pick up what shortly became her profession: ceramics on the wheel.

Interview

©Federica Calzi

©VALENTINA CASALINI

What is it that you like especially about ceramics?: It is all about the wheel for me. The wheel teaches me to be present in the here and now. If you put too much of your own issues on the wheel, if you are not centered, then the clay will also not be centered – it falls and it breaks.
What have you retained of your background as an architect?: Project working. I do not create single objects, I work on collections which are carefully designed starting from a complex interior design project. Sleek shapes and clean lines also come from my past as an architect.
What was the starting point of your work as a ceramic artist?: It all began with the Impagliata, a tradition from Tuscany which consisted of gifting new mothers with a tableware set for their first meal after labour. I started creating single-meal sets based on this tradition which embodies care and interest not only for the baby but specifically for the mother.
How does your work with restaurants take place?: It implies working in collaboration with the chefs to create the plates that will work best for their signature recipes. For example, I created a serving plate for Alessandro Proietti Refrigeri’s 'Rape radici e vegetali', a sleek and perfectly balanced plate that could host the 36 vegetables of the recipe.

Martina Geroni is a rising star: she began her career in 2018