Stefano Pioli exhibited at Galleria Gagliardi from 1995 to 2003.
Stefano Pioli (1956 - 2003)
Il Tirreno 05 09 2003 The alchemy of the Raku technique ...
The alchemy of the Raku technique in the works of Stefano Pioli
SUVERETO.
On the occasion of Extempore, the symposium of the Academies of Fine Arts, Suvereto pays tribute to one of its artists, the ceramist Stefano Pioli, who died prematurely last April. The exhibition "Divento Di Verso", set up in the Sala del Ghibellino, organised by the S.T. Art Association, will be inaugurated this evening at 6 p.m. A collection of surfaces created by Pioli in an original interpretation of the ancient Japanese Raku technique for treating ceramics. A technique with results that are difficult to predict, which consists in firing the ceramic object in an oxygen-free environment with combustible material for a predetermined time. Only with experience and good chemical-technical training can the artist limit the damage caused by the breakage of the piece and the failure of the glazes.
Clay, water, fire, air, his secrets and alchemies allowed Stefano to create solutions of great visual and tactile seduction, which were attracting increasing interest, both in Italy and abroad. In fact, since 1992 Pioli had been a resident artist at the Galleria Gagliardi San Gimignano, a reference point in Italy for ceramic artists. An artist from Suvereto, who had chosen to work in the countryside of this ancient village, after training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and discovering the raku technique, learnt from John Colbeck, considered a true master of the ancient oriental technique.
Pioli has succeeded in creating a personal artistic fusion between the ancient Japanese tradition and the concepts of modern art. In his works you can breathe the dream, the evocation of distant lands and times, of ancient unknown alphabets, of villages beaten by the sands of time, of forgotten codes, but somehow close to the deep roots of being. I met Stefano on the occasion of Extempore, of which he was the soul and a supporting structure," says Pino Modica, president of S.T. Art. "I was struck by the contrast between his lightness in facing life and the great rigour and meticulousness with which he tackled his work as an artist. All his works are characterised by a formal research that denotes a very strong operational rationality. I hope that the exhibition will present the figure of Stefano as an artist and make him better known than he already is".
(ma. mor.)
After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, he turned to ceramics in the late 1970s.
He trained as a ceramist by attending courses and gaining experience in various workshops of master ceramists in Italy and abroad.
1984
Collaboration with painter Giorgio Bonelli (1941-1986)
The last work won the prize at the National Competition of Ceramic Art in Savona (Pruamar Fortress).
1985-87-89 Exhibition of Ceramics in Castellamonte (Turin)
1986 Collective exhibition of Ceramics in San Giacomo di Roburent (Cuneo)
1987 Collective exhibition on the theme "The Artist and the Frame" at the Sudio Sargam Milan
1990 In the exhibition "Differenti Senzazioni-Percorsi d'Arte" theatrical action entitled "Raku", staged cooking of a Totem.
Music by Ciro Buttar, production Teatro Stalker.
1991 Realization of the review "Mestieri in piazza" Suvereto
1992 Collective exhibition at Gagliardi Gallery San Gimignano
1993 Collective Gallery Gagliardi San Gimignano
Collective exhibition Galleria Atrium Monterotondo (Rome) in collaboration with Galleria Gagliardi San Gimignano
Exhibition Don Chisciotte Gallery Frosinone