On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Compasso d’Orothe Association for Industrial Design has also decided to award special recognitions to three long-selling products of Gio Ponti. Among these, an artisanal product from Campania stands out of the highest quality and with a history spanning six centuries: the collection of ceramic tiles Blu Ponti Collection created for Francesco De Maio Ceramics manufacturing in 1960. It is a collection of majolica made up of 33 (three were found recently) decorations in white and blue, designed in the 60s by the great Italian architect and designer, and still very current today, so much so that it was put back on sale in 2016. However, the award also wants to celebrate the Campania company, founded in 1494, recognizing the historical but also current value of Made in Italy, which was able to combine the idea of Gio Ponti, the territory (Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast) and the tradition of Vietri majolica.
Campanian pride
They were there to collect the Compasso d’Oro for Lifetime Achievement Gianni DeMaioCEO of the company, and his wife Patrizia FamigliettiCreative Director. The emotion was replaced by the pride of having had the intuition that the times were the right ones to put back on sale the splendid collection that before then could be admired in the one hundred rooms of the Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento, a white gem set in the deep blue of the Campania sea. «In 1960, Gio Ponti created it in one of our companies, the ancient Fornaci D’Agostino. We therefore wanted to take up that story eight years ago, discovering three unpublished drawings. Since then we have had many satisfactions: the first with a major exhibition at the Milan Triennale, then when it was selected by the Moma in New York for sale in the Soho store, up to the Compasso d’Oro. For us it is a great satisfaction to have revived this collection and brought it back into vogue” explains Famiglietti.
The market
Since 2016, sales have exploded around the world. In addition to New York and Los Angeles, the collection is also sold in Australia, Japan, and all of Europe, led by France. «It is mainly used for private residences, as today’s technology has allowed us to make them stronger against wear and tear. Gio Ponti’s heirs, in fact, have authorized us to bring an important innovation to the collection, and to be able to reproduce it in majolica stoneware, that is, a particular type of ceramic which has all the characteristics of stoneware, therefore it is resistant to thermal shocks and can be also used outdoors, obviously without diminishing the decoration. Furthermore, we used an anti-slip layer which makes it even suitable for decorating swimming pools.”
The future
For Famiglietti there is only one path and it is the one with which «we preserve a centuries-old tradition characterized by very high craftsmanship and, at the same time, we look at design innovation by combining the wisdom of ancient workmanship and decorative techniques with contemporary creativity». Ceramica Francesco De Maio in fact continues to use traditional manufacturing techniques, preserving the historical memory of the ancient riggiola, the Vietri tile. The drawings created by the master ceramists on the still raw Bianco Vietri enamel tell the story of the richness of the Vietri decorative culture and the secrets of an art handed down from generation to generation since 1494. The classic collections, which recall Byzantine, Renaissance and Baroque motifs, are accompanied by projects decorations dedicated to design and art. In addition to Gio Ponti we find the collection Dots designed by Alessandro Mendini and the collection Carpet (majolica carpets) by Giuliano Dall’Uva. “Our source of pride was the agreement with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, to produce and market a collection of ceramics entirely hand-decorated dedicated to the masterpieces of the great painter” concludes Famiglietti. Almond Blossoms, Sunflowers, Plum Blossoms, Vase with Gladioli and Chinese Asters, Irises, Self-Portrait with Straw Hat are just some of the works. The laboratory technicians, graphic designers and master decorators of the Vietri company put their heart and soul into defining the glazes, colors and decorations to ensure that the canvases of the paintings were transformed into true ceramic works of art.
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