BERTOZZI & CASONI
Not What It Seems

Giampaolo Bertozzi (Borgo Tossignano, 1957) and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni (Lugo di Romagna, 1961 – Imola, 2023) were trained in the Faenza ceramic tradition, elevating this medium to the undisputed protagonist of their creations, far from the secondary role to which art had long relegated it.
Their partnership solidified with the founding of Bertozzi & Casoni in 1980. By the late 1990s, they embarked on a phase of experimentation moving from painted majolica to industrial techniques such as “photo-ceramics,” which allowed them to achieve ever more lifelike representations.
Thus began their famous “contemplations of the present,” contemporary Vanitas scenes offering glimpses of consumerist society, which astound with their fidelity to reality. Their remarkable ability to mold ceramics into shapes that challenge perception is one of the hallmarks of Bertozzi & Casoni’s work.
The duo’s creations are the result of lengthy, thoughtful studies, perfectly balancing form and content: constant references to pop culture and art history, teetering between irony and social critique, hyperrealism that induces doubt, and an almost baroque splendor that urges the viewer to reflect on the transience of existence.

The exhibition at the Labirinto della Masone is arranged across three rooms, each representing a distinct phase in the cycle of nature’s destruction and rebirth. Around forty works are on display, including some of the duo’s most iconic pieces alongside new, previously unseen creations, providing a comprehensive overview of their production.

In the first room, visitors are greeted by a series inspired by the seasonal cycles of Arcimboldo. To his triumph of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants is added the unsettling Fifth Season: the season of tin, plastic, cables… remnants of human activity. The deterioration of reality continues with animals trapped in plastic bags and atop barrels of tar.
The enormous Caretta caretta, a new piece exhibited to the public for the first time, struggles in one final attempt to break free from the prison of the Anthropocene.

The second room offers a disenchanted view of humanity’s passage on Earth, represented by one of Bertozzi & Casoni’s most famous works, Resistenza 2: a large banquet table filled with food scraps, surrounded by dirty dishes, plastic bags, and trash bins. Among the waste, small animals appear once again, quietly reclaiming space in the absence of humans: butterflies and snails take advantage of the chaos.
Amidst food remnants, such as broken eggs (Istantanea) and octopuses (Vassoio Ma), emerges a raw, realistic portrait of contemporary consumerist society.

In the final room, the exhibition takes a turn towards hope and resilience. The works here depict new forms of life emerging from the ruins of decay: a monitor lizard (Tempo) walks across tires and cans; tulips and orchids (Disgrazia con tulipani rossi and Disgrazia con orchidea blu) bloom from piles of cigarette butts and paper scraps, while butterflies emerge from handbags filled with cosmetics.
The room celebrates nature’s ability to regenerate, suggesting that, through collective and mindful action, it is possible to heal the inflicted damage and foster a more sustainable future.
In closing, a new version of the iconic Pinocchio sits surrounded by books, still a wooden puppet despite his advanced age: the contemporary man who sees his reflection in Pinocchio has yet to complete his journey of purification. Yet, through this image, he is invited to reflect on how to improve the reality around him.

In addition to the dedicated rooms, some works will be placed in dialogue with the permanent collection of Franco Maria Ricci. In one scene, butterflies alight on the severed neck of a flamingo, aided by another in a tender dance (Flamingo), placed in contrast within the room dedicated to Cupid’s triumph.
The same butterflies cover an electric chair (Sedia elettrica con farfalle) at the center of the Vanitas Room, offering a clear allusion to the fleeting nature of existence.
Finally, still lifes with books and magazines (Adesso) blend into the galleries of historical publications by Franco Maria Ricci.

BERTOZZI & CASONI. Not What It Seems is an emotional and intellectual journey, inviting the public to confront the consequences of human actions on the environment.
The works of Bertozzi & Casoni, with their extraordinary realism and profound sensitivity, offer a deep reflection on the fragility of ecosystems and the resilience of nature, all while steering clear of the empty rhetoric that often surrounds these themes.

On the occasion of the exhibition, a book of the same name will be published by Franco Maria Ricci Editore, featuring the exhibited works along with a series of original stories by Tiziano Scarpa, winner of the Strega Prize in 2009.