Paolo Porelli - ""RefleX: Figures for reflection""
2019, 500 x 200cm; 42cm H max (sculptures), Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Firing Process: Low-fire, Reduction, Surface: Lustre
with Maurizio Tittarelli Rubboli (in-glaze luster). Solo Show 2021: Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio; "61st Premio Faenza", 2020/2021, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
2019, 500 x 200cm; 42cm H max (sculptures), Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Firing Process: Low-fire, Reduction, Surface: Lustre
with Maurizio Tittarelli Rubboli (in-glaze luster). Solo Show 2021: Palazzo Ducale, Gubbio; "61st Premio Faenza", 2020/2021, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
Paolo Porelli - ""Metallic Votive Wall""
2019, 200 x 200cm; 44,5cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Oxidation, Surface: Glazed
"Metallic Votive Wall" 2019, stoneware/porcelain, glaze, 44,5cm H max Korean International Ceramic Biennale (KICB) 2021, South Korea
2019, 200 x 200cm; 44,5cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Oxidation, Surface: Glazed
"Metallic Votive Wall" 2019, stoneware/porcelain, glaze, 44,5cm H max Korean International Ceramic Biennale (KICB) 2021, South Korea
Paolo Porelli - "“From Stereotype to Archetype”"
2020, 250 x 250cm; 40cm H max (individual sculptures), Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: High-fire, Oxidation, Reduction, Soda fired, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Image transfer / Decals / Screenprint, Lustre
“From Stereotype to Archetype” 2020 stoneware, glaze, overglaze, fired in oxidation, reduction, soda-fire, 40cm H max "From Stereotype to Archetype" 2021, solo show, Arch Contemporary, Tiverton, RI, USA
2020, 250 x 250cm; 40cm H max (individual sculptures), Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: High-fire, Oxidation, Reduction, Soda fired, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Image transfer / Decals / Screenprint, Lustre
“From Stereotype to Archetype” 2020 stoneware, glaze, overglaze, fired in oxidation, reduction, soda-fire, 40cm H max "From Stereotype to Archetype" 2021, solo show, Arch Contemporary, Tiverton, RI, USA
Paolo Porelli - "“Neuf Neuves Déesses”"
2017, Dimensions vary, 46cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation, Surface: Unglazed
“Neuf Neuves Déesses” 2017 porcelain, unglazed 46cm H max "2020 Taiwan Ceramics Biennial", New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Yingge Taiwan (shortlisted); "Ethos: Keramikos 2022", Museo di Palazzo Doebbing, Sutri, Italy
2017, Dimensions vary, 46cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation, Surface: Unglazed
“Neuf Neuves Déesses” 2017 porcelain, unglazed 46cm H max "2020 Taiwan Ceramics Biennial", New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Yingge Taiwan (shortlisted); "Ethos: Keramikos 2022", Museo di Palazzo Doebbing, Sutri, Italy
Paolo Porelli - "“Mary Magdalene, Santa Cecilia, Judith & Holofernes""
2019, 109-115,5cm H, Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Oxidation, Surface: Glazed
“Mary Magdalene, Santa Cecilia, Judith & Holofernes” 2019 stoneware, glaze, 109-115,5cm H "Visioni contemporanee: venti artisti a Castel Sant'Angelo" 2021, Rome, Italy
2019, 109-115,5cm H, Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Oxidation, Surface: Glazed
“Mary Magdalene, Santa Cecilia, Judith & Holofernes” 2019 stoneware, glaze, 109-115,5cm H "Visioni contemporanee: venti artisti a Castel Sant'Angelo" 2021, Rome, Italy
Paolo Porelli - "“Protestant Madonnas”"
2019, Dimensions vary, 25cm H max (sculptures), Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Other, Surface: Glazed
"Protestant Madonnas" 2019 stoneware, glaze 25cm H max "Protestant Madonnas" (solo), Firma Van Drie, Gouda, The Netherlands;"Ethos: Keramikos 2022", Museo di Palazzo Doebbing, Sutri, Italy; "Madonne Protestanti: terzo atto" (solo), Il Ridotto del Teatro, in conjunction with Argillà, Faenza, Italy
2019, Dimensions vary, 25cm H max (sculptures), Media: Stoneware, Firing Process: Electric, Mid-range, Other, Surface: Glazed
"Protestant Madonnas" 2019 stoneware, glaze 25cm H max "Protestant Madonnas" (solo), Firma Van Drie, Gouda, The Netherlands;"Ethos: Keramikos 2022", Museo di Palazzo Doebbing, Sutri, Italy; "Madonne Protestanti: terzo atto" (solo), Il Ridotto del Teatro, in conjunction with Argillà, Faenza, Italy
Paolo Porelli - "“Globalisation Camouflage”"
2017, Dimensions vary, 42cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation
"Globalisation Camouflage" 2017 Slip-cast porcelain, unglazed, 42cm H max WesterwaldPrize 2019/2020 Ceramics of Europe, Keramikmuseum Westerwald, Westerwald, Germany
2017, Dimensions vary, 42cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation
"Globalisation Camouflage" 2017 Slip-cast porcelain, unglazed, 42cm H max WesterwaldPrize 2019/2020 Ceramics of Europe, Keramikmuseum Westerwald, Westerwald, Germany
Paolo Porelli - "“Metallic Idols”"
2017, 80x120cm; 44,5cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation, Surface: Non-ceramic
"Metallic Idols" 2017, porcelain with PVD, 80x120cm (sculptures 44,5cm H max) "Ceramic Art Andenne 2018", "Contemporary expressions of Italy", Andenne, Belgium
2017, 80x120cm; 44,5cm H max (sculptures), Media: Porcelain, Firing Process: Electric, High-fire, Oxidation, Surface: Non-ceramic
"Metallic Idols" 2017, porcelain with PVD, 80x120cm (sculptures 44,5cm H max) "Ceramic Art Andenne 2018", "Contemporary expressions of Italy", Andenne, Belgium
Paolo Porelli - ""Divinities + Idols""
2018, Dimensions vary, 25cm H max (sculptures), Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Firing Process: Electric, Low-fire, Other, Oxidation, Reduction, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Image transfer / Decals / Screenprint, Lustre
"Divinities + Idols" 2018 earthenware, glaze, overglaze, decals, 25cm H max "Divinities + Idols" (solo) 2018, HAS at Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO, USA
2018, Dimensions vary, 25cm H max (sculptures), Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Firing Process: Electric, Low-fire, Other, Oxidation, Reduction, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze, Glazed, Image transfer / Decals / Screenprint, Lustre
"Divinities + Idols" 2018 earthenware, glaze, overglaze, decals, 25cm H max "Divinities + Idols" (solo) 2018, HAS at Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO, USA
Paolo Porelli - "“Fire-bearer”"
2014, 160x68,5x84cm, Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Mixed Media, Firing Process: Low-fire, Other, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze
"Fire-bearer" 2014, slipped terracotta & mixed media, 160x68,5x84cm (foreground) "Scultura ceramica contemporanea in Italia", Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome, Italy
2014, 160x68,5x84cm, Media: Earthenware / Terracotta, Mixed Media, Firing Process: Low-fire, Other, Surface: Engobe / Slip / Underglaze
"Fire-bearer" 2014, slipped terracotta & mixed media, 160x68,5x84cm (foreground) "Scultura ceramica contemporanea in Italia", Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome, Italy
Artist Statement
With his sculptures, Porelli wants to provide access to an archetypal dimension of reality, condensing Surrealist contaminations, Pop proliferations and Archaic symbolism. The anthropomorphic inventions that he elaborates provoke an estrangement of figuration creating absurd iconographic elements/iconographies and a new mythology of the present. With his repertoire of figures, Porelli seeks to emphasise the critical behaviors of contemporary man and all the phenomena that are at the core of society, especially the unsustainability of civilization as a model for development and its incompatibility with nature. His sculpture becomes an example of cultural eclecticism and historical nomadism that represents linguistically the expressive globalization of creation. In addition to painting, the work of Porelli finds its preferred expressive technique in ceramics both due to the connection of that material with the ancestral origins of mankind and because its versatility offers him the possibility to express current, contemporary and modern concepts.
Bio
Paolo Porelli, Rome Italy (1966). After graduating in painting (Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, Italy), Porelli began a period of experimentation in ceramics in which he identified an anthropomorphic figure as his preferred expressive form. Clay remains his principal medium, although he often integrates ‘ready-mades’ in his sculptures as well as casts of found objects. Life-size to small-scale figures stand alone or in installations.
Co-founder of CRETA Rome (2012), a centre for ceramics and fine arts which offers short-term residencies to international artists. In 2021, he was elected a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.