Andrea Anastasio's First Spanish Exhibition at Madrid's Italian Cultural Institute

The Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid is hosting Mimetica. Ceramica: riflessi e rifrazioni, the first Spanish exhibition of designer, teacher, and philosopher Andrea Anastasio (Rome, 1961). The show, running until March 2 at the Palacio de Abrantes, features ceramic works made for Ceramiche Gatti 1928, a historic Faenza workshop where Anastasio has been artistic director since 2018, alongside lamps designed for Foscarini. The exhibition explores ancient ceramic material through design, craftsmanship, and art history, presenting pieces like Esodi (monochrome zoomorphic ceramics forming three-dimensional still lifes), Trottole (elegant containers), Battuti (vases, bowls, candelabras), and Auree (futuristic flower holders with inkjet-printed geometric patterns). Volpedo amphorae, glazed black with nylon cords, evoke pre-industrial labor. Lustri di Alta quota pieces incorporate climbing ropes, while three small Persian lustre ceramics (12th-13th century) from the Mao Museum of Oriental Art in Turin are also displayed. The Battiti project, from a 2022 Foscarini workshop, uses ceramic animals as supports for neon light bars. Fregi lamps feature LED strips on horizontal bas-reliefs with floral designs. Intervallo, a luminous sculpture, pays homage to the Della Robbia family with a ceramic fragment of a Virgin and Child created using mechanical cutting technology.