Christian Caliandro explores fragility and transformation at Cantieri Montelupo

Christian Caliandro, art historian and professor at Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, reflects on the Cantieri Montelupo project in Montelupo Fiorentino, Italy, on June 19, 2021. The text intertwines philosophical musings on happiness and pain with a critique of Germano Celant's institutionalization of Arte Povera, contrasting it with Carla Lonzi's vision of reciprocal, co-creative art. Caliandro discusses Marco Ulivieri's workshop, where the artist creates fragile ceramic works from broken fragments, emphasizing impermanence and transformation. Ulivieri's pieces, like "Senza titolo" (2020) and "Interno pianta," are made from discarded shards, reassembled and reglazed, often breaking again to take new forms. The artist experiments with self-dissolution of dry clay in water, leaving only an exoskeleton. Caliandro notes that these works, like people, change through trauma (fracture), with time and event as central themes. The project recontextualizes ancient "utensils" in museums as art, arguing for a return to their original ritual, magical, and healing functions. The text includes a quote from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space" (1927) and references to Carla Accardi and Luciano Fabro.