Francesca DiMattio

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)