THE WORKS ON DISPLAY

EARTH AND FIRE - THE ART OF WOMEN IN CERAMICS

exhibitions News

May 17 - 31, 2025
Duca di Martina Museum - Naples
In the central hall of the museum's Oriental section

After six years, the Pandora Association returns to exhibit at the Duca di Martina National Museum of Ceramics in Villa Floridiana, bringing women's ceramics back to the center of artistic and cultural debate. The ancient art of ceramics has always been a field of study, research and experimentation for the APS Pandora women ceramic artists, which promotes, through its international network, a dialogue rich in forms, symbols, cultures and colors. The exhibition presents a significant selection of 44 female artists out of 169 Italian and international members, testifying to Pandora's ongoing commitment to enhancing female creativity and territorial identity. Founded in 2013 in Cava de' Tirreni, a city with an ancient ceramic tradition, Pandora Association is nationally recognized by the AICC and, since 2018, has become an international reality, with members from all over the world. Through the Women's pottery project and the Matres international women's ceramics festival, now in its seventh edition, Pandora has created a cultural bridge combining art, tradition and innovation, making this event a major Italian women's ceramic event and among the most relevant in the international arena. A fundamental role is also played by the Pandora Ability, which promotes the social and labor inclusion of people with disabilities: two artists from the group are actively participating in this exhibition, offering a concrete example of how art and different abilities can dialogue in a fertile and constructive way. This exhibition is the result of a long journey of initiatives aimed at conveying a passion for ceramics as a tool for intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and sustainable innovation. Ceramic art here becomes not only artistic expression, but also a means of women's empowerment and collective growth. Pandora is committed to enhancing the skills of its women artists, creating an international network of collaboration and exchange, resulting in concrete opportunities for growth, comparison and promotion of ceramic arts globally. A project that weaves tradition and contemporaneity, strengthening the bond between different communities and promoting a future in which women's creativity is recognized as an engine of cultural and economic development.

The free theme of the exhibition allows female artists to explore emotions, experiences and personal reflections, offering a broad and varied cross-section of the contemporary female ceramic scene. Clay and fire thus become powerful tools of expression: through these primary elements, women artists shape their worldview, overcome technical and cultural barriers, and renew the language of ceramics with original and innovative styles. In this context, ceramics is confirmed not only as an ancient art, but as a living and dynamic practice, capable of telling stories of resilience, identity and transformation. The exhibition aims to pay tribute to the creative power of women, who today more than ever embody the craft spirit contemporary, making a major contribution to cultural dissemination and exchange on a global scale.

The Duca di Martina National Museum of Ceramics, with its precious historical collections, offers an ideal backdrop: here the past dialogues with the present, inspiring new readings and reinterpretations in a contemporary key. The exhibition emphasizes how ceramic art, rooted in the land and tradition, can renew itself through female sensibility, becoming a vehicle for universal values, inclusion and beauty.

Anna Rita Fasano
President and art director
APS Pandora ceramic artists

Exhibition coordination, set up: Patrizia Piscitello, Amalia Bizzarro, Miriam Gipponi, Amalia Ferrigno, Giovanna Di Guida

Artists featured in the exhibition:

AMALIA FERRIGNO, ANGELA DE LUCA, ANGELIKI PAPADOPOULOU, ANNA MILLER., ANNABEL MARRERO SAMBAD, ANNALISA APICELLA, DEBORAH CIOLLI, DORIANA NAPLES, DORNA ABYAK,
ELEONORA PANICONI, ELIA TAMIGI, ELISABETTA D'ARIENZO, EMILIA BALESTRIERI, FRANCESCA NARDINO, FRANCESCA REGA, FRANCESCA RUSCIANO, FULVIA BARBUTO, GABRIELLA LAMBERTI, GILL ZIMMERMANN, YOUTH GUIDE, GIOVANNA FAUCI, GIOVANNA SALLUZZO, GIULIANA SANDULLI, GIOVANNA GUARNIERI, LJUBICA LOVRENCIC, LOREDANA AVAGLIANO, LUCIA VECCHIARELLI, MARIA GABRIELLA IPPOLITO, MARIA SABETTI, MARIA VALERIO, MARIALUISA AIELLO, MARINA RIZZICA, MIRIAM GIPPONI, MIRTA MORIGI, NINA SIRIGNANO, PANDORA ABILITY, ANNA FALCONE, CARMEN APUZZO, PAOLA TAGLE', ROSA AUTILIO, ROSA CIRILLO, ROSA SALSANO, ROSA TIPALDI, ROSALBA DI CHIARA, SARA SCHETTER, SHOHREH HAGHIGHI.