Nicole Colombo's Ceramic Rosary at Raffaella Cortese in Albisola

Raffaella Cortese, in collaboration with Triangolo, Cremona, presents Nicole Colombo's first solo exhibition in Albisola Superiore, running from May 16 to September 26, 2026. The project is the result of a residency and ceramic production developed locally with Studio Ernan Design, a historic Albisola manufactory founded in 1974 in continuity with Ivos Pacetti's tradition. Colombo's work reinterprets the rosary as an intimate, large-scale object composed of fifty elements made from black clay and metallic powders, each fired once and cold-glazed with a transparent pigment she developed. The morphology of each element derives from the water chestnut seed (Trapa natans), a recurring motif in Colombo's research and historically used in European devotional contexts since the Middle Ages, particularly in Jesuit spirituality. The seed, considered an apotropaic amulet in many Italian and European regions, is traditionally carried for protection against the evil eye and ailments. The work, titled 'Rosario (to the moon and back),' transforms the rosary from a religious device into a personal object measuring time, repetition, and concentration through the ritual of making—fifty repeated acts, each unique. The opening on May 16 at 11:00 AM features Colombo in conversation with Giovanna Manzotti, moderated by Gabriele Cordì, at Museo Trucco in Albisola Superiore.