Two collections, one from the estate of Riccardo Dalisi—who passed away in 2022—and the other from the workshop of editor and ceramicist Alessio Sarri, illustrate the poetic radicalism that radiated through the world of Italian art and design starting in the late 1960s.
In the 1960s and 70s, Italy was to architecture and design in Europe what France and Germany had been in the 1930s: the epicenter of a creative movement that shaped the history of contemporary art. However, Italian artists responded to the Franco-German functionalist rigor with a form of radicalism inherited from sprezzatura—a kind of studied nonchalance, infused with humor, yet highly refined. Riccardo Dalisi, though less famous in France than some of his compatriots, created works that best embody the principles of Global Tools, the counter-design school he co-founded with none other than Ettore Sottsass Jr., Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, Remo Buti, Ugo La Pietra, Franco Raggi, Davide Mosconi, and members of the collectives Archizoom, 9999, Superstudio, UFO, and Ziggurat.
Their goal: “To elevate humble techniques, craftsmanship, and to question consumerist society, through proposals reflecting the concerns of the post-1968 revolutionary period.” (Global Tools (1973–1975) – Eco-Design: De-Project & Low-Tech, Nathalie Bruyère, Catherine Geel, Victor Petit, published by Nathalie Bruyère, 2023). To Italians, Dalisi is remembered as the creator of one of their most beloved Neapolitan coffee pots, published by Alessi in 1981, of which he produced over 200 models between 1979 and 1987 (Caffetiera In-Divisa, 1985, €7,000–9,000). Among his lesser-known but most expressive works are two mosaic panels (1990, €20,000–30,000) and sculptures from the Ultrapoverisimo series (Mouse and Horse, 2004, €5,000–7,000).
Ettore Sottsass, Dalisi’s partner in the Global Tools movement, relied on ceramicist Alessio Sarri to realize some of his projects. Sarri is also a creator himself (Petra, Virginia, Dorotea and Masada, Mud Stars Collection, €500–700 and €400–600), but he is especially known for producing ceramics designed by leading figures of the postmodern Memphis movement, starting with the group's first exhibition at Milan’s Arc '74 gallery in 1981. Designer Matteo Thun debuted his first ceramics there, shaped by Sarri, who soon after founded Alessio Sarri Ceramiche. Their collaboration blossomed (over thirty pieces are presented for sale, including Totem, 2015, €2,000–3,000).
Nathalie du Pasquier also joined the project and began designing her own pieces (Da Mettere al posto della televisione, schermo vuoto da riempire con quello che si vuole, glazed chamotte stoneware, Raw-Less Collection, 1/7, €4,000–6,000), as did George Sowden (B.W.R.Y, Raw-Less Collection, glazed ceramic dish, edition of 7, €1,500–2,000).
Ettore Sottsass himself devoted much of his work to ceramics (Persepoli, Antiche Ceramiche Collection, ceramic vase-sculpture, edition of 24 + 2 artist’s proofs, 1989, €4,000–6,000, or Fruttiera con manici, TendenTse Collection, partially glazed ceramic bowl, edition + 9 artist’s proofs, 1984, €1,500–2,000).
Alessio Sarri also collaborates with other major names in contemporary design, including Johanna Grawunder (San Diego Freeway, Raw-Less Collection, chamotte stoneware vase with three Plexiglas plates, edition of 7, prototype €1,500–2,000), Jasper Morrison (Bird Table, terracotta table, edition of 9 + 2 artist’s proofs, 1991, €800–1,200), and Franco Raggi (Io-Vaso, Raw-Less Collection, glazed porcelain sculpture-vase, 1/7, 2018, €2,000–3,000).