The New Maiolica: Contemporary Approaches to Colour and Technique

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book for 2000The practice of tin glaze spans thousands of years of history, from its inception in Mesopotamia, through its flowering in Islamic culture, its brilliant heyday during the Italian Renaissance, and its current active revival around the world. It has always been a medium both varied and expressive that has inspired ceramists and artists alike over the centuries to ply their brushes in an exuberance of painted decoration and narrative. Within the field of ceramics, maiolica, with its stable color-holding glaze surface, is unique as a medium--indeed, it has been called a painter's medium.The New Maiolica is conceived by Matthias Ostermann as a workshop in print, guiding the reader progressively through some of the conceptual, material, and technical concerns that inform this versatile and compelling medium.The work of more than fifty international ceramists is shown, giving evidence to the great variety of contemporary expression in tin glaze. There is also an examination of the problems that can occur in maiolica production, and suggested solutions, followed by a list of recommended reading, with food for philosophical, aesthetic, and technical thought.