Francesca DiMattio
Dyson Caryatid, 2019
Glaze on porcelain
98 x 27 x 19 inches
(248.9 x 68.6 x 48.3 cm)
Francesca DiMattio’s (b. 1981) practice combines a cacophony of
influences, which she applies in a layered and non-hierarchical
approach to her work. Her sculptures draw from the rich tradition of
ceramics, merging contrasting references and styles within each fluid
construction. In both her sculpture and painting, she discovers ways
to weave together the history and artistry of craft, transposing it from
a practice of quiet control into one that seems unpredictable,
explosive and shifting. Similarly, she mixes high and low, East and
West, the historical and the contemporary. In her newest works made
of porcelain, she mines the rich history of the medium, alluding to an
almost encyclopedic lineage: English Rococo vases, Turkish tiles,
Islamic Fritware, Viennese Du Paquier, French Sèvres porcelain,
Wedgwood figurines and Meissen vases are all sources. She pairs
these historical antecedents with references to contemporary kitsch,
like Chintzware, mass-produced glass vases, floral-patterned tissue
boxes and Laura Ashley bedsheets.
DiMattio’s work is currently included in Ceramics in the Expanded
Field at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North
Adams (MA). Recent solo exhibitions include Statues at Art Omi,
Ghent (NY) in 2019; Boucherouite at Salon 94 Bowery, New York
(NY) in 2018; Francesca DiMattio: Housewares at the Blaffer Art
Museum, Houston (TX) in 2014; and Vertical Arrangements at the
Zabludowicz Collection, London (UK) in 2013.
Recent group exhibitions include Vessels at Nina Johnson, Miami
(FL) in 2021; the 2019 Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts at the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York (NY); and
Groundbreaking: Innovations in Clay at the Kimball Art Center, Park
City (UT) in 2017.
The artist’s work is in the collections of the Perez Art Museum, Miami
(FL); the Frances Young Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs (NY); the Everson Museum of
Art, Syracuse (NY); the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University,
Waltham (MA); the Saatchi Gallery, London (UK); and the
Zabludowicz Collection, London (UK).
