Museo Bertozzi & Casoni

The Bertozzi & Casoni Museum was a permanent exhibition of contemporary ceramic art in Sassuolo's Cavallerizza Ducale. The artists' website has announced that the museum closed after several years of activity; its history remains a notable meeting of contemporary sculpture, ceramic craft and the ducal complex.

Why it matters

The exhibition brought the work of Giampaolo Bertozzi and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni into dialogue with the ceramic industry of Sassuolo. Their sculptural practice uses fired and painted clay to create highly detailed works that draw on the vanitas tradition and the imagery of everyday life. Presenting the work in the Cavallerizza connected contemporary art with the region's ceramic production and the history of the Este court.

What to notice

Bertozzi and Casoni's sculptures combine hyperrealistic technique with unexpected or transient subjects. Their works have appeared in international exhibitions, including Tate Liverpool, the Venice Biennale, Ca' Pesaro, Palazzo Te and Expo Milano 2015. The former museum's setting was itself part of the story: the Cavallerizza's eighteenth-century architecture framed works made from a material associated with the region's modern tile industry.

Context and history

Bertozzi and Casoni began working together in Imola in 1980. Their exhibition at the Cavallerizza was presented as a permanent display devoted to contemporary art in ceramics. The building was constructed between 1781 and 1788 under Duke Ercole Rinaldo III to house horses and the dragoons serving the Este court. A renovation funded by entrepreneur Franco Stefani and designed by Studio Pincelli & Associati prepared it for later civic and cultural uses. The artists' website subsequently announced the museum's closure and referred to future exhibition projects in preparation.