Concetta Modica on Ceramics, Performance, and Material Transformation

In an interview with Irene Biolchini for Artribune, Italian artist Concetta Modica discusses her turn to ceramics about ten years ago, seeking a hands-on, autonomous practice after years of conceptual work. She now fires her own kiln, allowing experimentation with materials like copper sulfate fresco on terracotta, as seen in her Palermo project for the Grand Tour exhibition curated by Michela Eremita, where she used soil from the Orto Botanico and tomato sepals. Modica blends ceramics with diverse materials (fabric, iron, glass) to avoid stereotypes. Her performance series "La Trilogia di Orlando" integrated ceramics with fencing, music, and voice, treating the clay as an active participant. She views sculpture as time, with ceramics embodying geological and symbolic centuries. The interview is part of Artribune's series "Gli artisti e la ceramica."