THE MEMORY OF TOUCH
Limited-Editions Drop by Lucia Zamberletti
“Touch has a memory,” wrote John Keats — a line that quietly accompanied Lucia Zamberletti as she created this collection of seven ceramic sculptures for Avant Craft. In the studio, the phrase evolved into a more intimate reflection: the memory of touch.
The Concept
For Lucia Zamberletti, touch is not simply a method but the origin of form itself. Each sculpture is shaped through a sequence of gestures that leave their trace in clay: the smoothing that produces a perfectly polished surface in Bloomen #6; the pressure of fingertips imprinting movement into the stem of Funghi #4; the tapping and layering of slip that creates the textured skin of Bloomen #8; and the cupped hands that guide thin sheets of clay into the light, fluid volants seen in Funghi #5 and Bloomen #7. Every gesture carries its own memory — an imprint the material does not forget.
The Collection
Within this collection, the dialogue between touch and form unfolds across two sculptural families:
Bloomen: a series of vertical constructions where blooms, seeds, and architectural elements meet in a refined study of contrast. Glossy surfaces sit beside rough textures; organic silhouettes rise from geometric bases; movement is held in poised stillness.
Funghi: a body of work rooted in the artist’s childhood memories of walking through the woods with her father. These sculptures embrace the irregularity of nature — crooked stems, incomplete caps, textured skins — echoing what Zamberletti calls “the real uniqueness and beauty of nature.”
Together, Bloomen and Funghi articulate a shared sensibility: the belief that touch shapes not only the object, but the experience of encountering it. In a present where much feels fluid and intangible, these works return us to material presence — to weight, texture, and a more human scale.
As Antonia Campi observed: “Ceramics will always endure, because it is too deeply rooted in human sensibility.”
Meet Lucia Zamberletti
Working from her home studio in Varese, Zamberletti shapes each piece entirely by hand, firing elements individually before assembling them into unique, irreproducible compositions. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Rossana Orlandi in Milan, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Collect art fair London, Svenskt Tenn in Sweden, and in collaborations with Artemest, Thrown Contemporary, Galerie Philia, and Orma Art.