Arianna De Luca. Reinterpreting Mediterranean Heritage Through Contemporary Ceramics
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
Interview by: Valeria Zerbo and Amalia Di Lanno
Photos: courtesy Arianna De Luca
Among the new voices shaping the landscape of Italian contemporary ceramics, Arianna De Luca has developed a distinctive language that transforms Mediterranean memories and traditional craftsmanship into bold contemporary objects.
Born in Abruzzo, between the hills and the Adriatic Sea, Arianna grew up surrounded by landscapes, colours and traditions that continue to inform her work today. After studying Industrial Design in Italy and completing an MA at Central Saint Martins in London, she returned to Italy to reconnect with the rich heritage of Castelli ceramics, one of Italy's most important historical centres of ceramic production. There, she immersed herself in centuries
-old techniques and knowledge passed down through generations, which she now reinterprets through a contemporary sensibility.
Her practice occupies a space between collectible design, craftsmanship and contemporary interiors. Through vibrant colours, primitive forms and a strong narrative sensibility, she creates objects that celebrate ritual, conviviality and the emotional dimension of domestic life.
In this conversation, we discuss her relationship with tradition, the influence of Central Saint Martins, the legacy of Castelli, the importance of colour and material experimentation, and the balance between artisanal making and contemporary design.
After studying Industrial Design and later completing your MA at Central Saint Martins, what led you to focus on ceramics rather than other materials?
Ceramics came after my experience in design and interior design, almost as a necessity. I felt the need to return to a more direct relationship with materials and making. In design, the project often remains separated from production; with ceramics, however, concept and making constantly interact.
What fascinates me is that ceramics are both ancient and extremely contemporary. They possess an almost archaeological dimension, carrying centuries of history, yet depending on how they are approached, they can become remarkably contemporary.
The ceramic tradition of Castelli plays an important role in your research. How do you engage with this heritage and reinterpret it?
For me, tradition is not something to preserve in a static way, but rather a language that must continue to evolve. Castelli represents an extraordinary technical and cultural heritage, and returning there to learn allowed me to understand processes and knowledge handed down through generations.
What interests me, however, is not reproducing forms or decorations from the past. Instead, I try to absorb their spirit: the connection with the territory, the value of craftsmanship and the idea of the object as a cultural expression. From this foundation, I build my own language. It is a continuous dialogue between memory and imagination. A similar reflection emerged in our conversation with Alice Reina, whose work also explores the relationship between memory, material and contemporary expression.
On the left: Uccellacci collection, ceramics. On the right: Ceramic works from Bonanza, Folcloristica and Riviera collections. Ph. Flavia Rossi
Your work often evokes Mediterranean archetypes while translating them into a contemporary language. Which aspects of this heritage do you feel are most important to preserve, and which do you prefer to transform?
More than individual forms or symbols, I believe it is important to preserve the values behind Mediterranean culture: conviviality, ritual, and our relationship with time, food and the home.
What I enjoy transforming are the visual codes. I am interested in taking familiar images and rewriting them. An object can evoke a collective memory without becoming a literal quotation. I like working in this intermediate space, where something feels familiar and yet entirely new. This is what I call active nostalgia: not a melancholic look at the past, but a material from which to generate new possibilities.
How did your experience at Central Saint Martins influence the way you look at tradition and design?
My experience in London taught me above all to develop a critical perspective and never to consider tradition as something untouchable. At Central Saint Martins I learned that projects often emerge from questioning what we already know and creating unexpected connections.
Paradoxically, it was while living abroad that I began to look more carefully at my own roots. Distance helped me recognise the cultural and visual value of elements I had always taken for granted. When I returned to Italy, I chose to approach tradition not as something to preserve faithfully, but as a living material to reinterpret through a contemporary sensibility.
Your work sits between unique pieces, small editions and interior design projects. How do you approach the relationship between uniqueness, reproducibility and artistic research?
I do not see these dimensions as opposites. My background in design naturally leads me to consider how objects can be reproduced and inhabit different contexts, while craftsmanship inevitably introduces uniqueness.
Even when working on small series, every piece retains subtle variations that tell the story of the handmade process. This tension interests me greatly: creating objects that are accessible and shareable without losing authenticity. Artistic research lies precisely in maintaining a strong authorial vision regardless of the scale of production.
Riviera collection. Ph. Flavia Rossi
Colour plays a central role in your work. How does your relationship with colour develop?
For me, colour is a language before it is a decorative element. It is often the starting point of a project because it immediately establishes the emotional tone of an object.
I dedicate a great deal of time to developing colour palettes and searching for combinations capable of evoking specific sensations. I am interested in colours that transport us elsewhere and suggest particular atmospheres or imaginaries. In this sense, colour becomes a narrative tool and gives personality to objects, almost as if they were characters with their own identity.
You remain closely involved in every stage of production. What aspects of working with clay remain essential to your practice?
I am involved in every stage of the process, from concept development and prototyping to production, packaging and shipping. I work with valuable collaborators when necessary, but I remain actively engaged throughout the entire process.
It is difficult to isolate one specific aspect because, for me, working with clay is a continuous and circular process in which every phase influences the others. More than anything, what I consider essential is maintaining constant contact with the process itself and continuing to experiment with forms and materials.
Explore the collection
A curated selection of works by Arianna De Luca will be developed in dialogue with the research documented in this Journal entry. These works will be presented as part of future Avant Craft curatorial projects.
