close

follow us on

Object of the Week: Body-Positive Ceramic Art

Love your lock down body, cheeky curves and all!


Throughout the history of art, the human body has been a source of inspiration for artists. From the unknown sculptor behind the Venus of Willendorf to The Birth of Venus by Boticelli and Nikki de Saint Phalle’s Nanas, the female figure has been celebrated in varied renditions.









View this post on Instagram









E se il bello diventa #kitsch? Il cattivo gusto è sempre in agguato… Quando la Venere di #Botticelli indossa bikini e occhiali da sole per il suo ultimo week-end estivo e viene replicata in stampe per borse, foulard, t-shirt, fino a diventare un panno antistatico per la pulizia della casa: ecco il campionario del kitsch! Che cos’è il kitsch? Essenzialmente uno “scarto”, dal verbo di lingua tedesca “verkistchen” nel significato di pasticciare, intrugliare, il kitsch è un prodotto di dubbio gusto, un pasticcio “pasticciato” fino all’eccesso. Un surrogato di opera d’arte, addizionato di vodka e horror vacui, un cocktail esplosivo stucchevole e indigesto, l’ultimo Frozen Daiquiri alla fragola di una notte d’ebbrezza di fine estate. E ancora il souvenir di un viaggio, la gondolina veneziana e la Sirenetta di Copenaghen, le sfere di vetro che capovolte mimano la mitica nevicata del ’56, il Loreto impagliato, i fiori in cornice dell’amica di Nonna Speranza: “le buone cose di pessimo gusto” di #GuidoGozzano. 📚#Antologiadelcattivogusto #GilloDorfles #ClementGreenberg #uomokitsch #lezionidiesteticagliUffizi. www.uffizi.it/mostre-virtuali/botticelli-spring-marathon 🌍E N G: And what if beauty turns into #kitsch? Bad taste is always around the corner… When Botticelli's Venus wears bikini and sunglasses for her last summer weekend and turns out to be replicated in printed bags, foulards, t-shirts as well as antistatic cloths for cleaning: here is an overview of the kitsch. What is kitsch? Essentially a “swerve”, derived from the German verb “verkistchen” that means messing, bungling… Kitsch is a tacky item, a botch "botched" to its utmost. A substitute for artwork, spiked with vodka and horror vacui, a cloying and indigestible explosive cocktail, the last frozen strawberry Daiquiri of a late-summer intoxication. It is the travel souvenir; the Venetian gondola and the Little Mermaid of Copenhagen; the upside-down glass spheres with the snowfall; Loreto, the stuffed parrot; the framed dried flowers of Grandma’s friend: “the good things of awful taste” of poet Gozzano. #Anthologyofbadtaste #aestheticlessons www.uffizi.it/en/online-exhibitions/botticelli-spring-marathon

A post shared by Gallerie degli Uffizi (@uffizigalleries) on






Been packing on more of you to love during the enhanced community quarantine?  Not to worry.  We live in an era where all bodies are considered beautiful, and no matter the form, the body is a power house that is to be celebrated. 


Take it from these contemporary artists who have gained inspiration from the human form for their ceramic art: