Nanni Valentini: Interspaces

Over the half-century span of its Ceramic National exhibitions, the Everson launched the career of countless American ceramists. In 1942 and 1958, the scope of the Ceramic Nationals became international, showcasing talents from both the Western hemisphere and Europe. On the advice of Italian artist Lucio Fontana, a brilliant ceramist in his own right, the 1958 Ceramic International introduced Nanni Valentini to the world. Valentini received a coveted purchase prize, and his work was exhibited on that year’s circuit, which included the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. By the time he exhibited at the Ceramic International, Valentini’s work had begun to move away from strict functionality. Although his studies were rooted in pottery traditions at the Istituto d’Arte per la Ceramica in Faenza, Valentini saw himself as a fine artist rather than craftsman. In the 1960s, he began creating conceptual wall-based ceramics that drew from exciting developments in Italian painting. By the 1970s, he produced a groundbreaking series of works called Trasparenza (Transparency), which further broke down the barriers between painting and sculptural object. Before his untimely death in 1985, Valentini established that ceramics were an inextricable part of the fine art canon. In collaboration with the Nanni Valentini Archive, Fondazione Museo della Ceramica di Savona, and ABC-ARTE, Interspaces re-introduces Valentini’s groundbreaking work to American audiences.