Mid-Century Ceramic Vase attributed to Alessio Tasca for Istituto Statale d'Arte, Venice, Italy, 1950s

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Measurements:
height: 17.5 cm; diameter: 20 cm; weight: 0.990 kg

a refined and interesting post-world war ii italian artistic ceramic … Read more Measurements:
height: 17.5 cm; diameter: 20 cm; weight: 0.990 kg

a refined and interesting post-world war ii italian artistic ceramic vase, attributed to alessio tasca (nove, 1929–2020) based on significant stylistic, technical, and chromatic similarities with the artist's early work, likely dating from the 1950s to the early 1960s. The vase is signed under the base with an incised signature on the glaze, which is unfortunately difficult to read. The most plausible reading is "istituto statale d'arte – carmini," referring to the state art institute of venice, traditionally known as the istituto d'arte dei carmini. The vase is wheel-crafted to an extremely balanced shape: the globular body, broad and strongly expanded, extends from a ring-shaped base and reaches its maximum width at the top, gradually narrowing into a truncated cone-shaped neck topped by a pronounced everted circular rim. The seemingly simple volumetric construction reveals a careful attention to proportion and the relationship between mass, profile, and surface area, a fundamental characteristic of postwar italian ceramics. The entire body is coated with an aquamarine green glaze verging on celadon, with a finely grained and dotted surface, animated by the subtle chromatic variations produced by the application and firing of the glaze. Against this luminous background, a complex, hand-crafted, abstract blackish-brown decoration unfolds: numerous bundles of thin parallel lines descend vertically from the neck and accompany the vase's curvature, while a broad, sinuous, diagonal dark band crosses the latticework and seamlessly envelops the entire circumference. The result is a dynamic composition that does not have a single, prominent front, but continually changes as the object rotates, transforming the turned volume into a truly three-dimensional painted surface. The minute irregularities of the line, the variations in line thickness, and the small accumulations of color are elements consistent with handcrafted decoration and contribute to the work's strong individuality. The attribution to alessio tasca arises primarily from comparison with his modernist production of the 1950s. After his initial experiences in the ceramic tradition of nove, tasca developed a new, explicitly "modern" production, characterized by graphic and graffito decorations on green and brown grounds; in 1951, his "earthy" and engraved plates were selected by gio ponti for the ix milan triennale. He later also used the famous "morelli green," a glaze specially developed by the technician and ceramist mario morelli for the tasca brothers' workshop. Tasca's vases from the 1950s are also documented, characterized by essential forms and highly graphic geometric decorations, making the comparison with the present example particularly interesting. Another element worth considering is the very worn inscription under the base, where it seems possible to discern a wording attributable to the istituto statale d'arte di venezia, perhaps accompanied by a reference to the carmini, but the reading is not clear enough to consider it definitively confirmed. The connection would, however, be consistent with tasca's biography, as in 1945 he enrolled at the istituto d'arte di venezia, entering into an environment in which the legacy of arturo martini coexisted with the new experiences of the fronte nuovo delle arti and spazialismo. Finally, the manner in which the inscription is traced is particularly interesting: various marking systems are known in tasca's documented production, including the graffito mark on the enamel used between 1962 and 1966. All these elements make the attribution stylistically plausible, although at present it cannot be definitively attributed to him.
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