Themes & Variations is delighted to present an exhibition of mid-20th Century ceramics by celebrated Italian artist, Guido Gambone.
Guido Gambone's important work epitomises post-War experimentation in glazes, form, texture and colour and his modernist ideas became highly influential. He was born in a region, Campania, well-known for the quality of its clay and a stylised pottery whose decoration drew on ancient European mythology and symbolism. His early training was with the Manifattura Artistica Salernitana in Vietri sul Mare, an area which is still a major European centre for ceramics.
By 1935 he had moved north to Florence which, by 1950, had become his permanent home, to assist in the production of the Cantagalli studio - specialists in the revival of the colours and patterns seen in early maiolica. With his brother Remigio, Gambone established his own business, La Faenzarella, in the early 1940s but the onset of war in Europe was to stall his innovation and production. In 1947 his work and ideas were recognised once again and he was awarded the first of five prestigious 'Premio Faenza' (Faenza Prize) for a characteristically-bold ceramic panel.
Perhaps more than any other region, the Mediterranean and its surrounding cultures were an endless inspiration to Gambone. His choice of palette, from earthy tones to pop-primaries, gave life to his amorphous forms and the designs had a rule-breaking expressionism of their own which captured the era's spirit of optimism and gained international acclaim.
Guido Gambone passed away in 1969. He is survived by his son, Bruno Gambone, a renowned ceramicist in his own right.