Arianna De Luca
Arianna De Luca is an Italian designer and ceramic artist based in Rome. Drawing inspiration from Mediterranean culture, landscapes, and artisanal traditions, she creates handcrafted ceramic pieces distinguished by bold forms, vibrant colors, and a playful narrative sensibility. Rooted in Italian design heritage, her work transforms functional objects into expressive celebrations of craftsmanship and storytelling.
Interview
I was born in Ascoli Piceno, a nice small city in central Italy. I grew up in Abruzzo, a beautiful region on the Adriatic Sea.
I think my very first memory linked to creativity as a child is me spending my days drawing and building objects with Play-Doh, then my very first exhibition, which was about a famous Italian comics artist: Andrea Pazienza. Then, when I started university, I think art and creativity slowly became part of my daily life and finally something I could not imagine living without.
Yes, I have always been in the art and design world, first as an interior designer, product designer, and finally as a ceramic designer.
I worked for many years as an interior designer between the UK (where I used to live) and Italy, and a little bit in South America. When I moved back to Italy, I felt that it was time to start experimenting more with materials. Back then, I was very fascinated with ceramics, so I gave it a go, and I started experimenting with shapes and objects.
All of my projects start with a moodboard because I am very interested in communicating a specific mood, atmosphere, and feel. Each one of my creations is the product of a long and accurate visual research, based on all possibly related photographic projects, historical references, interesting details, colours, and textures. After having gathered all this material, I play with it, re-shaping it and re-interpreting it so that I can tell a new story. I guess this is why I tend to think, design, and produce collections rather than individual pieces – because I see the products as different characters of the same story.
My main source of inspiration is the Mediterranean landscape, its culture, and its artistic heritage – with a focus on Italy’s ceramic legacy. I do a lot of research into traditions, pop culture, and Mediterranean artifacts as the starting point for creative explorations and concept development. In particular, I love ceramics from Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi Coast — their themes and colors often appear in my own work. I’m also inspired by the Italian design from the 1980s (the Memphis Milano group founded by Ettore Sottsass and the design icon Alessandro Mendini).
Every day is really different, depending on what I have to do. Being a designer, but also a small business owner, means you have to wear many hats. There are admin days, planning days, production days where you just pour clay all day long, designing days, painting days, glazing days, and so on 🙂
I think it was almost a coincidence. Italy is full of ceramic villages, each one with its own school and tradition, and because I grew up in a place very close to one of those villages, the idea of experimenting with ceramics has always been in the back of my mind. I left my hometown quite young, but when I returned, I decided to start learning with local artisans as I felt I should learn it there, following their methods. Initially, I just used ceramics as a way to complement my interior projects, producing bespoke products and decorations that could enrich the spaces I designed with even more unique details. Later on, as I started to research more into my own aesthetics and into new ways to render my own moods, my ceramic production took on a life of its own.
I tend to mix slip casting and hand-building techniques, which makes the object always look less “industrial” and more handmade. Also, I think the color combinations are quite intricate to obtain, so I have to paint each piece individually in each part. It is quite a long and meticulous work.
Never give up, always keep researching, pushing, and experimenting. Results will come. Always do what you like the most, which often is not what you feel more comfortable with.
I would say postmodernism.
Gio Ponti, Gaetano Pesce, Ettore Sottsass, Natalie du Pasquier, Alessandro Mendini, Carlo Scarpa, Enzo Mari, Bruno Munari.
Gaetano Pesce, Giuliano Andrea Dell’Uva, Patricia Urquiola.
Gaetano Pesce, Giuliano Andrea Dell’Uva, Patricia Urquiola.
Cheerful, bold, and fresh.
“I see the products as different characters of the same story.”
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
To live life with passion and love.
Routine – every day gets the same.
Sometimes I get too anxious.
Lack of honesty.
–
My wardrobe.
Feeling balanced.
Acceptance.
Honesty and carefulness.
Honesty and carefulness.
Sorry I am late.
Being able to sing like a pro.
Doubting less about my choices.
My work.
Donatella Versace.
Ibiza.
My kiln, my jewellery.
Misery is not being able to relate with other people.
Ceramics :)
Cheerful.
Their presence.
Gabriele D’Annunzio, Pirandello.
E.T.
–
My parents.
–
Useless complaints.
Losing time with doubts.
I don’t like to die.
Where there is a will there is a way.
“My main source of inspiration is the Mediterranean landscape, its culture and its artistic heritage.”
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