Emiliano Maggi on Ceramics, Performance, and Gucci Collaboration

Emiliano Maggi (Rome, 1977) integrates ceramics with performance, music, and costume, viewing clay as a living body that dictates its own form. His passion for ceramics began in childhood watching an uncle create masks and puppets, but crystallized in 2013 during a residency at Mona Museum in Tasmania, where he learned from local masters. Maggi cites Rome, London, New York, and rural nature as influences, blending baroque and archaic aesthetics. Performance remains central, with the body as a political, erotic, and transformative tool. His first ceramic work was a mask named Freddy, inspired by Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street and horror master Wes Craven. Maggi studied costume at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinecittà under Piero Tosi, which shaped his artistic identity. Recently, Gucci provided technical support for performances at Nomas Foundation, producing fabrics and costumes with students from Accademia di Moda e Costume and Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.