Giacomo Onestini ceramic sculpture Italy 1970

Beautiful ceramic sculpture designed by Giacomo Onestini made in his own atelier in Italy in 1970. It has a combination of matte and shiny glazed surfaces. The back and sides of the sculpture have a textured surface with shades of gray, green, and sometimes turquoise. On the front, there’s a carved-out section that’s smooth and glazed with red and gold hues. It’s a very appealing and intriguing piece. You can find the artist’s signature, “Onestini,” on the side of the sculpture. This piece was created in the artist’s personal studio. Very nice large sized, heavy piece and in excellent condition.

After graduating as a master ceramist, Onestini moved to San Marino where he found employment at the “Marmaca” ceramics factory. Around the end of the 1950s, he moved to Salerno and began working with the “Ernestine” ceramics factory, then, after a brief period of collaboration with the “Santi” ceramics factory, he moved to Turin where he devoted himself to teaching at the city’s Art Institute. Having abandoned teaching, he chose to deal directly with the public, first in a huge exhibition/garden, then in a gallery that became an indelible reference point for numerous Italian and European collectors. More unique than rare, the artist travelled all the paths of the ceramic universe, from sculpture (later translated into bronzes) to decoration, reflections and moulding, which earned him the title of best in Europe in 1980.

To the signs of Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Far East he associated characteristics of our Mediterranean tradition such as lustres, the so-called impasti. In this he was incomparable, as in the persuasive suggestions of Gargano, of ancient sedimentations and geological upheavals. His house-workshop, with many of his works, can now be visited thanks to his wife and son.