THE MATRES AWARD

The Matres Festival of Women's Ceramics 2022, now in its 4th review, has kicked off the 1st Edition of the MATRES PRIZE. The purpose is to broaden its appeal to give voice to the artistic activity of the many women working with ceramic art in its broad expressions

exhibitions VISIONS 2022

The exhibition competition "VISIONS" addressed women ceramic artists from all over the world who work with ceramics in the arts and crafts of excellence and design . Diverse linguistic and technical-artistic expressions were present in the visions of the well over 150 women artists - ceramicists participating in the exhibition competition and coming from about 30 different nationalities (from Latin America, the USA, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Korea and Thailand in addition to the wide representation of European nations).

The reflection on the importance of protecting Mother Earth present in all of the Festival's proposals can be found in the exhibition competition Visions.

The Matres Award was organized by APS Pandora Artists Ceramists with the patronage of the Campania Region, of the Tunisian Consulate in Naples, of theKorean Cultural Institute in Rome, in collaboration with the municipalities of Cava de' Tirreni and Vietri sul Mare, Cna of Salerno and the Campania Region.

The composition of the jury:

Elena Agosti, director and curator at the Villa Lattes Museum.

And ceramic expert;

Maria Grazia Gargiulo, conservator and art historian;

Nurye Donatoni, Ivat collaborator and Mav coordinator in Aosta

WINNING WORKS

1st prize Stefania Spanedda (Italy) Primordial form/ Primordial form

Rationale: Primordial form is a piece made using the Raku and Naked Raku technique in 2022. This work was chosen for the elegance and sinuosity of this archetypal form. The stylistic essentiality highlights Stefania's deep connection with the material. The golden spiral is the result of excellent technical knowledge and in particular the processes of reduction, the symbolism takes us back to the origin of life and the theme of this year's Festival Matres: Naturantis, the protection of Mother Earth. Its arcane beauty, the silkiness of the surface and the geometric shape that reminds us of the unfolding of a seed, brings us back to the life-generating force, to fertility, to Mother Earth precisely, a symbol of a precious nature to be protected and safeguarded.

2nd prize Doran Abyak (Iran) I am where there is pain / I' am where there is pain

Rationale: The work I am where the pain is, a porcelain paperclay piece with mixed clays, is a large-scale work that is the result of great technical expertise. It reminds us of the physical birthplace of life and its fragility, a basin that brings great joy, but only after labor and pain. The work features an accidental breakage that occurred during its transport and its sewing up, not the precious kintsugi, but a sewing up that we might call surgical, invites us to reflect on the danger of childbirth and shows us the courage and strength that women daily employ in their interceding

3rd prize Mirang Roh (South Korea) People who dream/ People who dream

Rationale: An award was given for the irony and exquisite Korean taste in illustration. With the composition People who dream the artist has taken us back to her world of chymoons, beautiful stylized and carved flowers and cute weathered piglets! Harmony comes from the right balance and relationship with the animal and plant worlds

Special Mention Mara Tonso (Italy)Triptych: seed containers / Triptych: seed containers

Rationale: A textural work composed with Castellamonte clays, earthenware, engobes and oxides, takes us back to the primordial uses of pottery as a crockery and utensil, the connection with the earth as the generator of food, and in particular the seed, a symbol of rebirth.