Pottery on Board

Volume published on the occasion of the homonymous exhibition, curated by the architect Matteo Frulio, at the MuDA Exhibition Center of Albissola Marina, 2 April – 1 May 2016.

Strongly desired by our Administration and treated in detail by the Architect Matteo Frulio, with the logistical support of the Circolo degli Artisti, we are finally ready to welcome, in the spaces of the MuDA Exhibition Center of Albissola Marina, an exhibition of such high value, symbolic and cultural.
That Albisolese ceramics experienced a truly incredible moment starting from the 1920s, by now it is known to most, but that the history of traditional and decorative ceramics, was so closely linked to ocean liners, it is less common to tell about it. “Pottery on Board” therefore wants to be a journey within a journey, through the dream of an era in which our country is reborn, told through the objects that accompanied it: and then here are the dishes of good memories, mass-produced or even simple tableware for everyday use, but also fine decorations, of bathrooms and dance halls.
There will be no shortage of surprises within the exhibition, such as the unpublished fragments of the works of Emanuele Luzzati recovered from ships being demolished for example, but it will also be an opportunity to better observe our wonderful works by Lucio Fontana, also saved fortuitously from their loss and much more.
Certain that our illustrious past still has much to teach us, we will make sure that this exhibition is seen by most, so that we can start again from here too, from what good we still know how to do: the ceramics.

Gianluca Nasuti, Mayor of Albissola Marina
Nicoletta Negro, Deputy Mayor of Albissola Marina / Councilor for Culture

The publication

Matteo Fochessati, director of the Wolfsoniana in Genoa, contributed to the volume, Paolo Piccione architect and internationally recognized expert on naval design, Paris Lena Merica journalist and Matteo Frulio curator and creator of the exhibition.
The essays investigate the history of ceramics on board the ocean liners and in particular the presence of objects and works of art created in Albisola, many of which are visible within the exhibition itinerary. Inside of: monographic essays on Lucio Fontana, Edoardo Alfieri and Emanuele Luzzati and their work in Albisola; an in-depth study on the Conte Grande ocean liner - whose interiors were designed by Gio Ponti and which inside was furnished with numerous ceramic works of art - and on life on board.