A Contemporary Tradition

Bitossi is one of the most important and renowned names in the world of Italian ceramics and design. But it is also the surname of a family documented as early as 1536 in Montelupo Fiorentino, a town with an ancient ceramic tradition just a few kilometers from Florence.

Potters, sculptors, and painters, the Bitossi family played a major role in the stylistic and formal renewal of ceramics in the 20th century. In 1921, Guido Bitossi founded the “Maioliche artistiche Guido Bitossi” workshop, and Aldo Londi, its artistic director from 1946 to 1976 and a tireless experimenter, brought a contemporary shift to the company.

As early as the mid-1950s, Londi began collaborating with Ettore Sottsass, the brilliant founder of the Memphis movement, who in Milan was challenging the aesthetics, materials, and production methods of industrial design at the time. His collections, defined by the spirit of experimentation that still characterizes Bitossi today, opened a new chapter in the history of ceramic art.

Still located at its historic headquarters from 1929 and led by Ginevra Bocini, the fourth generation of the family, Bitossi today stands at the crossroads between tradition and contemporary creativity. This unique position is shaped by a continuous dialogue with some of the brightest contemporary designers.

In their collections, creatives such as Max Lamb, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma, the duo Muller Van Severen, Patricia Urquiola, Nathalie du Pasquier, and Faye Toogood give new form and meaning to ceramics, in a constant pursuit of balance between craftsmanship, innovation, and research.

Craftsmanship

Every ceramic artwork by Bitossi is the result of a highly complex artisanal process, both in form and decoration, carried out within the company by highly specialized personnel using a variety of raw materials: white or red clay, glazes, vitreous coatings, and fluxes.

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