ART WITHIN SURFACES
Unique Raku Ceramics Through Non-Repeatable Colour Effects Colours with unique effects, harmony, synergy with materials, simplicity, and beauty. In one word: raku. In this interview, Enrico Sioli explains that this ancient technique is not a mere form of art, but an actual philosophy of life.
F
rancesco Enrico Sioli was born
What relationship exists between art and
These do not stem from the need to “show
on 3 May 1963 in Milan. Now
industry and how does it translate into
off”, but from a company’s will to visually
an entrepreneur, manager, and
your creations?
express its philosophy and its objectives and
representative of a leading international
Art and industry: that is a long story…
convey them to its customers, the market in
insurance and financial Group, he has always
Their relationship has its roots in the late
which it operates, its competitors, and society
had a passion for art and he has found in the
eighteenth century and the early nineteenth
at large. Fondazione Prada, Fondazione Zegna,
ancient technique of raku pottery the closest
century, when the latter tried to elevate itself
and Fondazione Trussardi are just some of the
form of expression to his artistic tendencies.
from mere technical processes through
examples of the way in which many fashion
The work “Sguardi oltre l’orizzonte”, which
‘decorative arts’, which could help make
brands invest in contemporary art through
Sioli donated for the charity auction
industrial products pleasing to the eye. In
their foundations: contemporary art becomes
organised by EOS Mktg&Communication on
that period, art began being associated with
an inspiration for the business language.
its tenth anniversary, aroused the curiosity of
industrial production and it intertwined with
most of the guests1.
craftsmanship: mass-produced items were
Your professional activity is very far from
The raku technique was developed in the
enriched with decorations, while artisans often
the artistic world. How do you manage to
sixteenth century based on the ancient
made use of mass-produced bases to be
reconcile these two aspects?
Japanese art of processing ceramics to
decorated.
It is exactly in this antithesis that my creativity
create clay cups for tea ceremonies. This
Nowadays, the art-industry relationship very
is manifested. I was looking for a way to
particular form of art, which involves a
often takes the form of corporate collections.
express the both positive and negative
complex material processing method, was modified by Western artists in the 1950s, by maintaining the general preparation process – clay is fired at a temperature of 750-950 °C and then rapidly cooled in the open air – but customising the shape of objects. The particular colour effects, which enhance the beauty of these simple and natural items in harmony with materials, are due to the reactions of dyes to the quantity of oxygen released during firing and to the cooling method used. A passionate advocate of this technique, Enrico Sioli has told us a lot about it in this interview.
1
“Sguardi oltre l’orizzonte”: Giving body and colour to dirt, in ipcm® Interna onal Paint&Coa ng Magazine no. 65 (September/October 2020), p. 134. © Francesco Enrico Sioli
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