Saloni 2008: Ceramic Tiles of Italy at Saloni del Mobile
Saloni del Mobile 2008: Following on from the Guscio project by Mario Botta and the designers who last year created sit_down_please, Italian ceramic tiles will be back at the Triennale during the Furniture Show 2008. Ceramic Tiles of Italy_Architectural Food is the image event promoted by Confindustria Ceramica and organised by Edi.Cer. spa in an exhibit space curated by Aldo Colonetti and set up by Origoni & Steiner.
The event focuses on two fundamental aspects of ceramic tiles: industrial-level production, based on technical and aesthetic innovation, and the creativity of designers who use mass-produced products to interpret the theme of food, one of the key sectors of Italian production. A total of eight very different solutions are presented, all featuring convivial objects that creatively explore the culinary tradition, Italian in particular. Interesting work is showcased by designers Adriano Design (“Italian Kebab” for Edilcuoghi Ceramiche), Enrico Azzimonti (“World Wave” for Casalgrande Padana), Odoardo Fioravanti (“Big Dish” for Majorca), Nicola Gallizia (“Oro in bocca” for Florim), Lorenzo Gecchelin (“Tile à Tile” for Ragno), Luca Nichetto (“TileFilm” for Marazzi), Matteo Ragni (“Buoni appetiti” for Etruria design) and Maurizio Sala (“Hai mangiato la foglia?” for Emilceramica).
The project has also seen the contribution of Giacomo Mojoli from the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (Slow Food) for the choice of the local culinary specialities that will be offered every evening from 19.00 to 20.00 at AperiTiles from 17 to 20 April. Even food has its own architecture and ceramic tiles, with their compositional flexibility, are capable of offering new and original solutions for places and spaces of food consumption.
The origins of Ceramic Tiles of Italy enable it to explore new consumption rituals while maintaining its industrial scale. To borrow a famous phrase from 20th century aesthetics, Italian ceramic is a kind of “work of art in the age of technical reproducibility”, as Walter Benjamin wrote in the 1930s.
“Today we operate in the world of industrial production while addressing the need to design forms and objects that speak to the heart and the mind of every one of us,” says Aldo Colonetti. “Ceramic Tiles of Italy – Architectural Food is a project that brings together the industrial culture and cultural traditions of our country, without neglecting the aesthetic dimension.”
The exhibition will be presented to the press on 15 April 2008 at 13.00 in the presence of Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica Mr. Alfonso Panzani, the curator of the exhibition, the designers and the ceramic companies that have taken part.
