VOLVER | GIORGIO LAVERI

Elegant lipsticks, cherries at the peak of ripeness, turgid fountain pens, but also humble clothes pegs or the old pencil sharpener that we used at school (and which the invasion of multimedia boards and the iPad have rendered virtually obsolete) grow out of all proportion and are transformed by his hands into totems, almost cult objects that make us look at everyday reality differently. The glazed colours and the lustre of the ceramic (with embellishments – some in pure gold – added during the third firing) overturn tradition in perceptive short circuits that enchant in extreme aesthetic pleasure. An operation which, while starting from pop suggestions, goes beyond its scope in an exquisitely conceptual game. Suddenly the object which seemed destined to be forgotten in a drawer becomes an icon, dressing itself in gold or platinum; surprisingly, the juicy temptation of the fruit is at odds with the icy perfection of the material. While the lipstick becomes an allegory of seduction, and in that stick, cut at an angle at the top, molded to rest against the lips, we seem to see Marilyn Monroe’s mouth, even more vivid and sensual than in Bert Stern’s photos.