Bertozzi & Casoni

The book revolves around the creations of the artistic duo Bertozzi & Casoni, formed in Imola in 1980 and made up of Giampaolo Bertozzi and the late Stefano Dal Monte Casoni, who passed away in 2023. These artists from Emilia-Romagna both trained in the Faenza ceramic tradition and always elevated this expressive medium to the central role in their creations, redeeming ceramics from the secondary position to which contemporary art had confined it. Their creations, astounding in their technical and formal sophistication, describe contemporary society and highlight the theme of the corruption and decay of the natural environment due to human intervention, calling for collective responsibility. They also emphasize the potential for regeneration inherent in nature itself. The book is paired with seven lively stories by Tiziano Scarpa, who has amused himself by imagining the stories surrounding some of the works and invites the reader to do the same. The works, with their improbable yet hyperrealistic iconography, rich in references to pop culture and the world of art history, are reflected in the stories and vice versa, in an ongoing play of mirrors and echoes.