Tomorrow is "the big day"—St. Valentine's Day. We're sharing some of our favorite "reds" this week. Perhaps one of them will make the perfect Valentine's Day gift for a much-deserving sweetheart?
Wars have a way of defining and separating the aesthetic movements which flourished before and after the conflicts. After World War Two, the world was ready to move-on from the Art Deco which had characterized the period between the wars. Mid-Century Modernism would become the fresh, new look—a signal that the world was moving-on, into the future. Wars also have an impact on people, institutions and companies. What worked before (or during) a war, may not succeed once the conflict has concluded.
Italica Ars was formed in 1948—just after the war—in Lastra a Signa, a few miles west of Florence, Italy. It was composed as a collective of two dozen artists, reorganizing an older, Turn-of-the-Century ceramics workshop. It was a way to put artists back-to-work after a devastating war (remember, Italy had switched sides in 1943—from the Axis to the Allies). This region had been a ceramics-making center for centuries. Italica Ars aimed to capitalize on the growing public demand for affordable Italian Modernist home furnishings.
Italica Ars has always lived in the shadows of its close-by neighbor (and competitor), Bitossi Ceramiche. They both operated within a few miles of each other. Both workshops were informed by the indigenous ceramics culture (style and aesthetics) of the region. They both purchased their supplies (clay and glazes) from the same sources. And they both may have hired workers from the same families (if not the same individuals). But Bitossi seems to have enjoyed stronger design leadership (under Aldo Londi, who hired artists Ettore Sottsass, Piero Fornesetti and Matteo Thun). Bittosi also won the "marketing battle"—sending more finished products abroad and establishing the Bitossi name as a "designer brand." Nevertheless, both workshops produced similar forms, decorated in the same manner (specifically, using various stylus points to hand-decorate the soft clays with repetitive, impressed marks). People frequently confuse the works of Italica Ars for those of Bitossi.
The red, cylindrical vase, shown above, was made by Italica Ars in the Sixties. Rows of impressed marks ring the body and the whole piece is glazed in a very-Italian red. It is handsome and works well independently or as part of a larger grouping of ceramics. Please click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome piece.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.