Clay is one of the most physical and basic media of art making, often engaging the entire body.

The second event of the lecture series Touched by Clay: From Lucio Fontana to Contemporary Practice begins by examining Lucio Fontana’s ceramics, which reveal the artist’s bodily traces—hands, elbows, and fingerprints—impressed into the clay, evoking intimacy and vulnerability. The lecture then turns to contemporary artists such as Chinasa Vivian Ezugha, Ana Mendieta, Liliana Moro, Brie Ruais, Kiki Smith, Isabelle Wenzel, and others who engage their bodies to shape clay through gesture, touch, identity, memory, and politics. Their works connect clay to corporeality, often representing or abstracting the body.
The lecture concludes with an analysis of the work of Edmund de Waal, who explores the ways ceramics can represent bodily woundedness, focusing on fragility as well as potential for repair and healing.

remember

• The online lectures are in Italian and last one hour.
• Participants will receive a Zoom link.
• The series is for members only.
• Donation required of 60€ for the full lecture series, 50€ for participants joining before the end of 2025 (50€ for teachers, provided they submit a certificate issued by their school or institution to membership@guggenheim-venice.it).
• The course is free for Young Pass and Young Pass + friend members.
• It is not possible to register for a single lecture.
• Participants can join mid-course and receive recordings of previous lectures.