What's the most incredible thing you've done? - Bertozzi & Casoni: curated by Alberto Mattia Martini

Starting June 11, 2026, ABC-ARTE presents at its historic Genoa venue the exhibition What's the Most Incredible Thing You've Done?, a solo show by the artists Gianpaolo Bertozzi and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni. The exhibition project is part of a two-part series involving not only the Genoa venue but also the Milan space, culminating in the publication of a book dedicated to the project.

Founded in 1980 in Imola by Giampaolo Bertozzi (Borgo Tossignano, 1957) and Stefano Dal Monte Casoni (Lugo di Romagna, 1961 - Imola, 2023), the duo Bertozzi & Casoni gained international recognition for a sculptural language in ceramic distinguished by extraordinary technical mastery and strong conceptual impact. Trained within the Faenza ceramic tradition, the two artists chose this medium-often relegated to the margins of contemporary art-as their privileged field of research, restoring its full artistic dignity and bringing it into the major international contemporary art circuits.

Through relentless experimentation, both technical and formal, Bertozzi & Casoni developed an original and unmistakable perspective on contemporary society. Their works exist within a subtle balance between irony and a critique of consumerism, between hyperrealism and ambiguity, between formal splendor and reflections on decay. From the small-scale sculptures of the 1980s to the monumental installations of their later years, their artistic journey has been distinguished by the ability to combine technical virtuosity with conceptual depth, also encompassing experiences related to design and large-scale architectural production.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, their research expanded further, both in scale and conceptual scope, leading to the development of what the artists themselves described as "contemplations of the present": works reflecting on transience, ephemerality, and the continuous transformation of matter. The shift from painted majolica to techniques derived from industrial processes, such as photoceramics, marked a decisive evolution in their artistic language, characterized by a striking adherence to reality and a process of progressive objectification.

The exhibition What's the Most Incredible Thing You've Done? originates from a phrase encountered in the artists' studio, whose resonance appears deeply connected to their practice. Through extraordinary technical mastery, Bertozzi & Casoni transform ceramics into a critical device capable of questioning the relationship between reality, representation, and perception. Everyday objects, natural elements, and animal presences are rendered with such realism that they generate a subtle perceptual short circuit, in which the familiar suddenly reveals itself as ambiguous and unsettling.

The plurality of subjects does not respond to a single overarching theme, but rather reflects an ongoing investigation into time, memory, and transformation. The works emerge as traces of the contemporary condition, suspending processes of consumption and decomposition while inviting viewers to question their own relationship with the visible. In this context, discarded elements, remnants, and accumulations coexist with animal presences, often conceived as silent witnesses and, at times, bearers of a possible regeneration.

As curator Alberto Mattia Martini notes: "The works of Bertozzi & Casoni emerge as vestiges of the contemporary world, testimonies to an anthropological condition marked by accumulation, consumption, and the continuous transformation of the material world. Ceramics becomes the vehicle for a radical questioning of the visible. Wonder is no longer merely a quality attributed to the works, but a category through which to investigate the relationship between reality, representation, and perception."

Over the course of their career, Bertozzi & Casoni participated in numerous prestigious national and international exhibitions, including at Tate Liverpool, the Quadriennale di Roma, Sperone Westwater (New York), Ca' Pesaro, Castello Sforzesco, the Venice Biennale, All Visual Arts (London), Museum Beelden aan Zee, Palazzo Te, MAMbo - Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, GAM Palermo, Museo di Palazzo Poggi, Pinacoteca Civica di Ascoli Piceno, Complesso di Sant'Agostino, MART - Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Labirinto della Masone, and Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, consolidating a significant presence within the contemporary art scene.

Their works are also held in important private and public collections, including the Margulies Collection; Fondation Bernardaud; M+ Museum; The Koç Foundation; MASI Lugano; Robert Runták Collection; Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche; Imola Musei; Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Pino Pascali; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museo Morandi; and Palazzo del Quirinale as part of the Quirinale Contemporaneo collection.