A workshop born to revive a tradition
In 1977, Roberto Polidori opened his workshop in Pitigliano, in an area where the traditional ceramic workshops had long since disappeared.
After studying architecture and gaining experience in painting and contemporary art, Roberto chose to devote himself to ceramics. His work was also driven by a desire to revive the figure of the potter and preserve a body of craftsmanship that was at risk of being lost.
In the early years, he met the master ceramicist Mario Pizzinelli, then ninety years old, from whom he was able to learn and preserve part of this knowledge.
The workshop thus became not only a place of production, but also a space for research: a place to learn from tradition, experiment with materials and explore new possibilities in ceramics.
Ceramics as a form of research
For Roberto Polidori, ceramics are not simply about creating an object. They are a way of bringing together form, material, colour, technique and space.
From the very beginning of his artistic training, his research has extended beyond ceramics understood as a purely functional or decorative object. Ceramic forms, modular elements and glazed surfaces have become part of interior design and architecture, in an ongoing dialogue with furniture, light and space.
This openness to other forms of expression has accompanied the work of the workshop over the years. Craftsmanship and technical knowledge thus become tools for experimenting with new forms and expressive possibilities.
Ceramics remain the starting point, but not necessarily their limit.
The Land as Material
Pitigliano is not simply the place where the workshop is located.
The landscape of the Area del Tufo, with its clays, colours and ceramic heritage, is an integral part of the research. Over the years, Roberto has collected and studied local materials, observing their characteristics and expressive possibilities.
This attention to material continues today in the work of the workshop, where each ceramic piece is shaped by the relationship between form, clay, glaze, decoration and fire.
Handcrafting inevitably leaves its traces. Small variations in form, colour and surface are not imperfections to be eliminated, but part of the process that makes each piece unique.
Exhibitions, Publications and Collaborations
Over the years, Roberto Polidori's work has been presented in exhibitions and events in Italy and abroad, including Milan, Florence, Rome, Nanjing, New York, Dijon and Frankfurt.
He has also held solo exhibitions in Berlin, Burgau, Locarno, Montalcino and at Sarteano Castle.
His work has also been featured in publications and magazines dedicated to ceramics and architecture. In 2022, Impersonale VI, created in 1995, was featured on the cover of D'A magazine, and in 2023 it was exhibited in Faenza as part of Primedicopertina 18/22, an exhibition dedicated to works published on the covers of D'A and La Ceramica Moderna & Antica.
Throughout his career, Roberto has also collaborated with European artists from different disciplines, opening the workshop to educational experiences, professional training, and opportunities for exchange and experimentation.
Since 2023, Roberto Polidori has been recognised as a Master Artisan within the Homo Faber project by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, which presents him as a ceramicist and highlights his role in passing on his knowledge to younger generations.
The Workshop Today
Today, Ceramiche Polidori continues its journey with Roberto and his children, Laura, Giovanni and Alessandro, who work together in the workshop, each contributing in their own way to a story that began in 1977.
The work remains deeply rooted in traditional craftsmanship: shaping, throwing, assembling, decorating, glazing and firing. But also designing, experimenting and accepting what the fire gives back.
It is a craft that cannot be completely separated from the hands of the people who make it.
Since 1977, the forms, techniques and directions of the research have evolved. What has remained is the same underlying idea: to understand the material by working with it directly, to respect what tradition has to teach us, and to continue exploring what is yet unknown.