Handicraft as a cultural resource

The curator's point of view is clear: to find three contemporary (successful) examples of a coherent dialogue between design and craftsmanship. And it is obvious that at this moment the collaboration between the two worlds cannot exclude the hottest contemporary themes: technology, reuse and new use of materials, practical of production.

The sense, because there must be a sense in the production of new artifacts, is to understand if there is a possible resource of cultural experimentation of the immutability of the gesture and of the manual knowledge.

What is taken for granted, for example the inherent duty to safeguard tradition, is not part of Craftmania . Instead, there is the curiosity of designers / artists who use craftsmanship as a new experimental frontier.

Three names to understand

Carlo Lorenzetti uses the Colombina technique (the most basic: the one in which strips of clay overlap concentrically) to test new ceramic materials. There is daring, with a mix of raw earth and precooked compounds very stable and natural fibers. Research, however, is hidden under the glaze, just as there is a functionality to be discovered: the furnishings are equipped with wireless devices to recharge mobile phones.

Etienne Marc is another artisan 'experimenter'. He mixes materials considered incompatible with the traditional techniques of grotto Venetian, wrought iron and gilding. The objects are very beautiful, they have the charm of hybrid and unknown creatures. In search of a different aesthetic for objects with an art deco flavor.