{"id":29183,"date":"2024-02-01T12:19:24","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T12:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeravigliamagazine.com\/laformulaalchemicadellabellezza\/"},"modified":"2024-06-10T15:08:41","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T15:08:41","slug":"the-alchemical-formula-of-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeravigliamagazine.com\/en\/the-alchemical-formula-of-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ALCHEMICAL FORMULA OF BEAUTY"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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THE ALCHEMICAL FORMULA OF BEAUTY\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The magical atelier of the Curti Furnace\n<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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FEBRUARY 2024 - Materie<\/a><\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"I love to enhance beauty as it is with its imperfections. I also like the idea of mixing different materials in a melange where each material has its own dignity and value.\"\n

Elena Pelosi<\/h6> \n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A stone’s throw from the Navigli di San Cristoforo and its bridges over the water, there is a fascinating place, far from the frenetic pace of the city, almost suspended in time. We are talking about the <\/span>Curti Furnace<\/span><\/a>, which has been working terracotta since 1400, and which today houses the studios of various artists.<\/span><\/p>

The environment, so peaceful and authentic, immediately makes you think of ancient medieval villages, the crafts of the past, craftsmanship and the land in all its natural shapes and colors.<\/span><\/p>

It is here that <\/span>Elena Pelosi<\/span><\/a> has chosen to open her atelier, a laboratory and space for continuous experimentation, inspirations and starting point for each of her projects.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe earth is an ancestral element, a symbol in different traditions, mythologies and religions.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe earth is an ancestral element, a symbol in different traditions, mythologies and religions.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe earth is an ancestral element, a symbol in different traditions, mythologies and religions.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe earth is an ancestral element, a symbol in different traditions, mythologies and religions.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Hi Elena, you are a designer but also an artist who works with ceramics and this is your studio. Do you do everything here?<\/strong><\/p>

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Yes, the Fornace Curti is the place where my atelier is located. This space continues to be one of my sources of inspiration.\u00a0 The furnace is a place out of time but also an interesting hub not only for ceramists but also for artists, designers, stylists, journalists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Thanks to the atmosphere of this place, many connections are made between the artists. In particular, the Made in Fornace (www.elenapelosi.com\/madeinfornace) project: an idea born together with Luca Lanzoni, journalist and creative director, who also has a studio here and who, like me, would like to try to elevate the material of ceramics to something more conceptual: ceramics as a history of lands and projects, between art and design. Every year there are two open houses of the Fornace Curti, one in November and one in May, and the next event will be on the weekend of May 20th and 21st: each artist opens his studio to the public, and you can come and discover what is hidden behind the various doors of the ateliers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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What did you study?<\/strong><\/p>

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I embarked on a humanistic path: conservation of cultural heritage and restoration at university, and the qualification of glass and ceramics restorer. For my experimental thesis, I personally supervised the restoration of a mural painting in a ceiling of a church in Venice, the province where I come from. Every morning with a hard hat and a restorer’s overalls. Only then did I move on to study architecture and design, and I deepened my techniques with courses in graphics, photography and ceramics.<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0What were you like as a child?<\/strong><\/p>

I didn’t give up. I was very curious, as I am now. I collected everything: thanks to my parents I traveled a lot. I still remember the first time I climbed the volcano Etna, that feeling has never left me. I remember feeling the warm earth beneath me. I love volcanoes, they’re alive. It’s like coming face to face with matter in transformation: lava is earth at its most incandescent.<\/span><\/p>

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Have you ever used volcano sand for your creations? Otherwise, what do you use?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

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Yes, I used the one from Santorini. A reflection on the fact that such a beautiful island owes its charm to such a traumatic event as that of a volcanic eruption. Otherwise I use reclaimed land, for the recovery of history and traditions. Another land I used is that of Baratti, in front of the island of Elba. There in the Etruscan and Roman periods they melted iron and so, today, when the sun goes down, you can still see the beach shimmering on the horizon as you walk. You see your feet treading on a ground, which shines because of the traces of time that remain. See the story. However, you have to be careful to collect the land, you need authorizations and it is better to agree with private individuals on their land.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Did you start working with ceramics or glass?<\/strong><\/p>

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Living in Venice, in Murano, glass is considered the material par excellence, but it is not mine. I prefer ceramics. Both materials have the charm of alchemical transformation, they change with heat: in both glass and ceramics, the color can change a lot depending on the temperature or the type of firing, and it is only the heat that fixes them in the shape.<\/span><\/p>

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In the end, it’s all about chemistry. Like in the kitchen.<\/strong><\/p>

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Yes, as in confectionery, materials need precision. But with the harvested soil, it is not known exactly what its composition is. At what temperature will it melt? How will he react? What color will it produce? I like to experiment. I really like to combine several clays and create different colors, on ceramics, thanks to the diversity of its compositions. I don’t use nail polishes. I like the idea that ceramics, as a material, are not painted. I want to enhance it in its layers, in its peculiar characteristics. Applying a decoration is like a covering, almost as if to camouflage its materiality: I love to enhance beauty as it is with its imperfections. No make-up.\u00a0 I also like the idea of mixing different materials in a melange where each material has its own dignity and value.<\/span>

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What is the concept, artistic, or philosophical, to which you are most attached?<\/strong><\/p>

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The concept of GENIUS LOCI: every place has its own language, its own soul, its own time. I like to get to know a place not only to be inspired but also to better communicate with it, in a sort of metalanguage, the container and the content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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What is the result you want to achieve with your ceramics?<\/strong><\/p>

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I like ceramics with a raw, almost unprocessed look. For example, I have developed some ceramics with a soil that degrades over time, to give the idea of the passage of time and the material that ages, transforms and acquires “the patina of time”.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In general, to create works that are linked to broader themes of reflection. I do the same when I need to create for displays, concepts, stores, or table settings. It’s essential for me to have a story: it helps me to make choices, a sort of guideline, to discard materials, select colors and so on. I like the idea of being able to apply this philosophy to both art and design. For an exhibition on the theme of water resources protection during the Fuori Salone I was inspired by a tour in Madagascar with a biologist: I had discovered that in a region in the south-east of Madagascar several villages depend entirely on baobabs. It rains only a few times a year, and in order to be able to live in this hostile environment, the population uses the water that collects in the trunks, fresh and clean. Each family is responsible and looks after their own tree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

During this trip I had collected some soil and made vases that symbolize baobabs, nature’s water reservoirs, to raise awareness on this issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Very beautiful. As an artist, therefore, you research nature and the earth as a visceral concept.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

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The earth is an ancestral element, a symbol in different traditions, mythologies and religions. However, the Earth is also connected to sensation, perception, corporeality: it symbolizes the primordial matter that welcomes life and nourishes it, it symbolizes protection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The earth teaches us a lot, and what you learn by working with ceramics is the concept of time. A lot of thought goes into its value. If you want to get a result you have to know how to wait, everything has its time.<\/span><\/p>

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Tell us about any ongoing or completed projects that have particularly excited you.<\/strong><\/p>

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Among the new projects there is certainly the collaboration with Diletta Tonatto Profumi. She and I have the same vision, she does with her sense of smell what I try to do with her touch. We speak the same language and go back to basics. In addition, I am working on creating jewelry and furniture.<\/span><\/p>

Among the funniest past projects I can mention the table settings, some even made for The Meraviglia. I made ceramic supports inspired by other Japanese techniques, Ikebana and KUKIDO, using spontaneous, imperfect flowers to enhance the whole flower, including the stem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Basically, I created balanced compositions without a vase, just resting on plates of water and held together by my little ceramic circle. Mixing materials, plants and vegetables. A bit of a symbol of my way of designing: going back to the essentials and looking for a balance.<\/span><\/p>

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Last ritual question: what is the Wonder for you?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

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Good question, for me wonder is what arouses an emotion in you. It’s supposed to be normal, it’s everywhere. But the reality is that wonder is in the eye of the beholder. It’s an attitude. For example, when I wake up and see the sun kissing everything, I get up and go make coffee. That brings me joy.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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BY<\/span> Alessandra Busacca<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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