CARLO ZOLI

Fourth descendant of a family of Faenza ceramists, Carlo Zoli was born in Bari in 1959 and lives in Faenza since 1967, where he still works today.

His great-grandfather Carlo was a ceramist in Borgo Durbecco at the beginning of the 20th century.

His grandfather Paolo was a painter with the Minardi brothers and since 1918 the owner with Pietro Melandri, Lino Fabbri and Amerigo Masotti of the “La Faience” workshop, hence the renewal of tradition with new technical and stylistic research.

His father Francesco, himself a painter as well as a sculptor, was a lecturer in Artistic Decoration and it was under his wing that the young Carlo, born in Bari, was trained during the period in which his father taught in Apulia, before obtaining a professorship in Faenza and returning there with his family in 1967.

Carlo Zoli’s artistic qualities gained appreciation very soon and in 1985, he began exhibiting his works in galleries and institutions in Italy and abroad.

He has always preferred to create by modelling clay, and his unique pieces in polychrome terracotta inspired by myth, history and legend are well known. His unique works are characterised by a continuous search for new materials and new techniques to combine with terracotta: enamels and finishes in gold, third fire, gold leaf, resins and plaster.

His poetry is inspired by life and its magnificent complexity.

Struggles, challenges, energy, strength but also stillness and serenity. From these concepts derive his main series, Quiet and Storm, the two faces of existence that we can immediately recognise by observing the exploits of the characters he forged, gods or fantastic characters, discovering that their passions and feelings have remained unchanged to this day.

The year 2023 was a significant one for Zoli. First, he was invited to participate in the 14th Florence Biennale, directed by Jacopo Celona, attending the international event at the World Art Dubai in March and bringing his art to the Arab world for the first time.

This was followed by the annual exhibition at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence, an important event where Zoli presented ten unseen works, some part of the Il Teatro di Carlo series.  On that occasion, the artist won the Lorenzo il Magnifico International Prize in the ceramics category with I sacri fratelli, or Castor and Pollux, which was then taken to the prestigious Accademia delle arti del disegno in Florence from 11 to 28 January 2024 and at the Villa Ciani in Lugano.

Zoli’s presence in Florence was finally sealed by an important invitation from the Presidency of the Region of Tuscany, thanks to which the artist will be presented in a solo exhibition starting in March 2024 at the Palazzo Guadagni Strozzi Sacrati.

Company Profile Inés S.r.l.

Inés S.r.l. was born from the passion of people who believe in the power of art as a universal language, capable of improving the quality of life and stimulating new resources and energy.

Inés stands on the side of artists, representing some of the world’s most talented artists, working to enhance their creations and make them known to a wider audience through the organisation of exhibitions and cultural events, as well as promoting and facilitating their sale and circulation on international markets.