Mutina ceramics exhibition ‘An Ode to Things’: review

Installation view of Mutina's Ode to Things exhibition with ceramic vessels on plinths and artworks on walls — Installation view of ‘Ode to Things’ at Spazio Mutina Fiorano, on show until 8 August 2025

(Image credit: Photography: Nicolò Panzeri)

In the industrial village of Fiorano Modenese, Italy, a new exhibition celebrates the quiet poetry of everyday objects. Conceived by Italian art curator Sarah Cosulich, ‘An Ode to Things’ brings together paintings, sculptures, and design pieces that explore the beauty found in simple forms and domestic stillness.

Ceramic vessels and artworks in gallery space, part of Mutina's An Ode to Things exhibitions — Georges Jouve, *Vases Cylindre*, 1960 - 1969, and *Vase Cylindre*, 1955, glazed stoneware. Nathalie Du Pasquier, *Untitled*, 2015/16, oil on canvas in artist-made frame

Drawn from the private collection of Massimo Orsini, founder of ceramics brand Mutina, the exhibition reflects a deep appreciation for the artistry of the inanimate – vases, vessels, furniture, and decor elevated beyond function into something more contemplative. Timed to coincide with nearby Bologna’s ArteFiera art fair, the event also marks an important anniversary for the brand. ‘Mutina is celebrating 20 years, and among the many things we have done, the most important is the relationship we have forged with the artists and designers who have shaped this entire world of creativity,’ Cosulich said at the opening.

Installed in an intimate corner of Mutina’s expansive showroom – part of the Patricia Urquiola-designed Mutina HQ in Fiorano – the exhibition invites viewers to linger, to look closer, and to find meaning in the ordinary. The show takes its name from a poem by Pablo Neruda, the Chilean Nobel laureate, in which he professes his enduring love for objects. He writes: ‘I have a crazy, / crazy love of things. / I like pliers, / and scissors. / I love / cups, / rings, / and bowls – / not to speak, of course, / of hats.’

Much like Neruda’s poem, the works on display similarly dwell on the presence of the inanimate, with each piece underscoring the beauty of the everyday. An ethereal glass vessel by Ingeborg Lundin is set against an oil painting depicting a living room side table, also with a vase, by John Currin; the real and the depicted vessels each hold a delicate floral arrangement

Also present are artworks from Mutina’s previous, curated ‘Mutina for Art’ collections. Two vases by the French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec – a fluted cylindrical form and a rounded tube with knobbly protrusions – are placed in conversation with a moody still life from the Parisian painter Aimée Moreau and a dreamlike interior imagined by the acclaimed photographer Luigi Ghirri, who hails from nearby Reggio Emilia.

‘It is a project that, for the first time, allows us to combine Massimo’s collection with modern and contemporary design,’ said Cosulich. ‘It’s blurring the boundary between what is art and what is an object.’

‘An Ode to Things’, part of the Mutina for Art programme at Spazio Mutina Fiorano, opened 6 February and runs until 8 August 2025, mutina.it

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Laura May Todd, Wallpaper's Milan Editor, based in the city, is a Canadian-born journalist covering design, architecture and style. She regularly contributes to a range of international publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Azure and Sight Unseen, and is about to publish a book on Italian interiors.