Art or kitchen? Bitossi Ceramiche mixes both

Pia Seidel

8/8/2025

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Pia Seidel

A spice rack as a work of art? The Italian brand Bitossi Ceramiche shows how it can be done.

Bitossi - the ceramic manufacturer from Italy with over 100 years of history - presents everyday objects that become works of art in the Etage Projects gallery. Under the title «To cook a turkey for Thanksgiving», the exhibition combines cool materials with eye-catching colours and encourages us to see the ordinary in a new way.

The highlight: spices become part of the designs. As a «sensory programme», as the ceramics specialist calls it, they stand for rituals, memories and cultural stories. After all, a spice rack can also say something about who we are.

Bittosi's installation in the Etage Projects gallery.

In addition to archive pieces, new shelves are also presented. — Bittosi's installation in the Etage Projects gallery.

Bitossi Ceramiche was founded in 1921 in the Tuscan town of Montelupo Fiorentino and has been combining traditional craftsmanship with modern approaches ever since. The brand stands for handmade ceramics with eye-catching colours and special shapes. Designers such as Ettore Sottsass have accompanied Bitossi into the modern age. Today, the brand continues to collaborate with creative minds such as Arik Levy and Nathalie du Pasquier, constantly producing new interpretations of traditional ceramic art - its pieces can be found in the MoMA and the Victoria & Albert Museum, among others.

In addition to the sculptural shelves, which are predominantly made of aluminium and scrap iron, Bitossi also brings archival pieces that celebrate over 100 years of the brand's history. «The objects deliberately move between design and sculpture, caught in an intermediate state», according to the exhibition statement, which only runs until 16 August. After that? The works will go into collections or archives. So either jet off to Copenhagen or scroll down - before the FOMO kicks in.

Most of the shelves are made from scrap parts.

The spice racks have a ready-made character. — Most of the shelves are made from scrap parts.

How do you think this will spice up a dish?

Each shelf reveals something about the preferences in the kitchen, ...

... while the unusual shelf shape raises questions. — Each shelf reveals something about the preferences in the kitchen, ...

Header image: Pia Seidel

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Pia Seidel

Senior Editor

Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.ch

Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.

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