Seeing beyond things, that's what an artist has to do with ceramics using the Raku technique. To do that needs concentration, says Giuseppe Lorenzi, while already thinking about the next work.
Distraction, however, belongs to the mass of all those living in the chaos of everyday life; beauty is increasingly ignored, it becomes invisible, because it is a given. So art has the great power to make us see what we usually ignore.
Giuseppe Lorenzi, with eyes that see through the world, needs to "see" and to make seen. We consider a pitcher, a jug: have you ever wondered what is its usefulness? First for water, or a good wine, "ultimately" there is emptiness. The Raku bowls of Giuseppe are, first of all, this: empty containers.
His voyage of life runs on the tracks of sincerity and imagination. Like the Little Prince, always looking for something nice and, again, the soul searching of Lorenzi is also expressed by an artistic technique which is, by nature, continuous experimentation: Raku ceramics.
"For every end there is a new beginning," says the Little Prince. And as Giuseppe, keep looking!
The Raku technique originated in Japan, it has ancient origins, is full of Zen doctrine, and was used to produce pottery for the tea ceremony. In a way it is the technique of the Little Prince, one that accompanies a man constantly in search of himself. A lifestyle that is a continuous experimentation and inner growth.
To give satisfaction to his senses Lorenzi attaches elements of refinement, colours and shades: opaque white and gold, copper and turquoise, opaque matte black and gold. The gold, recurrent in his work, is in contradiction to the earth, which is an element of weak light, and gives preciousness to his creations.
His refinement is to use horse hair, hair of an elegant animal in the service of a smart work. Ridden for millennia by royalty, nobles and simple people, the horse embodies a message of eternity.
Finally, "Art is very useful. Remember that beauty is needed in life, without the beautiful we do not live". These are the words and the concept behind the Raku works of Giuseppe Lorenzi, who seems to lie in the same vein of Dostoejevskij – "beauty will save the world".
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