Ivana e Saura Vignoli

Ivana Vignoli was born in 1948 and her sister Saura in 1956, in Brisighella, Ravenna (Italy). The sisters both completed their schooling in art at the Ballardini Art School of Faenza, before opening their own workshop in 1976.

Their use of shape and decoration in pottery goes beyond the local figurative tradition of Faenza, taking inspiration from a range of Mediterranean styles, in particular the traditions found in the Islamic, Spanish-Moorish, Roman and Byzantine cultures.

The specific use of reduction firing at high temperatures, together with metallic glazes, lends an iridescence to their works that makes each item a unique masterpiece of rare charm. Decorative themes focus on the reinterpretation of historic traditions or are completely original, in the true spirit of the craft as it has long been practised in the region where the sisters live and work.

Pure artistry is subordinated to the more commercial aspects of the craft at the workshop, where, although typical of the potter’s art, they do not just create one-off pieces but also produce large-scale series for business clients and buyers, with whom they have long worked on a regular basis.

Over the decades the sisters have collaborated with various artists and taken part in national and international exhibitions and competitions.

Exhibitions and Teaching Appointments

  • 2003/2004
    Teaching appointment in pottery decoration in Tripoli, as part of the Libiatech Project.
  • 2005
    Workshop for the “Association of Greek-Cypriot Ceramists” in Laranca, Cyprus. Featured in the national selection of arts and crafts of excellence, Biennale of Applied Arts, Darfo Boario.
  • 2013
    Featured in the exhibition “Manualmente”, promoted by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano and the Cologni Foundation, Villa Panza, Milan.