Mario Airò's Water-Molding Ceramics at Tirana's Bazament

Mario Airò's project 'Modellare l'acqua' (Molding Water), winner of the Italian Council grant, is on view at Bazament Art Space in Tirana until March 22, 2020. The exhibition, curated by Simone Ciglia, stems from Airò's residency in Castelli, a historic center of maiolica production in Italy. There, he collaborated with local artisans to select archetypal ceramic forms—plates, cups, jugs—that evoke daily life, which he then used to create an environmental installation referencing the theme of a fountain, with water and its flow shaped in ceramic. The project was developed by Fondazione Malvina Menegaz of Castelbasso (Teramo), which won the Italian Council call for the second time. The foundation is the only cultural entity in Abruzzo to have secured this grant, promoted by the Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Tourism. Unlike last year's winning project 'Retina' by Stefano Arienti, which used tapestry fabric, Airò's work focuses on ceramics. After its Tirana run, the exhibition will move to Castelbasso from July 4 to August 2, 2020, at the Fondazione's headquarters, presided over by Osvaldo Menegaz. The artwork is destined to enter the collection of the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza, Italy's leading ceramics museum. The Tirana presentation is supported by the Italian Institute of Culture in the Albanian capital.