From meeting... to embracing Cleto.
Stylnove interprets Cleto Munari at the Civic Museum of Ceramics

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‘We like Cleto Munari this way’ is the title of the exhibition scheduled to take place in Nove during the ceramics festival. It is a special tribute to one of the stars of art design directors and producers, Cleto Munari, who found his alter ego in Nove in the Stylnove ceramics company owned by brothers Franco and Lorenzo Zanovello.
Cleto Munari's meeting with Lorenzo dates back some time ago. Lorenzo is dedicated to the production of artistic pieces, unique works expressed through the language of ceramics. He met Cleto Munari at an exhibition featuring objects dedicated to the work and debate surrounding the great Picasso. "Cleto was unfamiliar with ceramic materials, but numerous collections have been created here in the workshop with his help. I would like to emphasise,‘ explains Lorenzo Zanovello, ’that these are objects of the highest quality."

The presence of the man who is simply and familiarly known as Cleto is a common sight in the various production areas of the Stylnove warehouses. Thanks to this intense relationship, a project has been launched that is not intended to be an end in itself, much less self-referential. The aim is to allow the public to read and understand the dialogue between a charismatic figure in modern design and an artistic ceramics company, also known as “artist residences”. 'These experiences do not claim to have an economic impact, but should be seen as an investment,“ says Lorenzo Zanovello. 'The Novi area needs stimulation to enhance its value through these new experiences. It is a challenge, if you like, a 'ceramic workshop” that can serve as a museum format, but also as a business format'. Lorenzo Zanovello's creativity has produced around twenty works dedicated to Cleto Munari.

The figure of Cleto, reproduced in ceramic, is a journey that recounts this well-known art producer, his way of being (with many references to Cleto's original style of dress). There are also very precise references to Munari's contacts and encounters with artists of the calibre of Andy Warhol (in this case, the figure of Cleto emerges from a container that recalls the famous work dedicated to “Campbell Soup”). Cleto's long-standing friendship with the unforgettable Franco Battiato is also mentioned, with the ceramic figure here indicating the “permanent centre of gravity”. The interpretation by Lorenzo Zanovello and Stylnove will be at the centre of the exhibition at the Civic Museum of Ceramics in Palazzo De Fabris. Alongside the works by Stylnove and Lorenzo Zanovello, there will be numerous objects from the history of design created and produced by Cleto Munari for leading names in art and architecture: works that will be displayed in the display cases of the historical section of the Novi museum. For the first time, contemporary design will open up an ideal comparison with the famous works of the Nove manufacturers, created from the 18th century onwards with porcelain, majolica and earthenware.