Farewell to Stefano Casoni of the Bertozzi&Casoni duo. Paolo Bertozzi: we were one person

Stefano dal Monte Casoni, a ceramic genius who, together with his friend and workmate Giampaolo Bertozzi, formed the celebrated duo Bertozzi & Casoni, has passed away after a long illness that took him away at the age of sixty-two. In fact, Stefano shared part of their studies and entire professional life with him, as well as the great worldwide success that their original ceramics have always enjoyed. Born in Lugo in 1961, he had formed, starting in the 1980s, one of the most original artistic duos on the contemporary art scene, which continued to work even though Stefano had already retired from the activity for several years precisely because of illness.

Their workshop, which still sees the birth of those amazing ceramics that look like real crockery, coffee cups, trays, food scraps and many other everyday objects, is located on the industrial outskirts of Imola. Their works conquered first Imola, then Italy and finally the world’s most important art galleries and major international stages, including two Venice Biennales (2009 and 2011) and a Rome Quadrennial (2005). Therefore, the passing of Stefano Dal Monte Casoni represents a great loss for the entire art world.

“His very long illness had prepared us a bit for this eventuality of course,” recalls lifelong colleague Giampaolo Bertozzi, “however, when it happens it is always a big blow and a big pain. It’s a really important lack, especially when I think that we worked together 35 years and built everything together since the early years. We went to school together (he was even younger than me), Stefano was only 16 when we started, together, to rehearse for a friendship and for a possible work together on art. We both always loved art. Our passions were the same, and it can be said, after so many years of work, that he and I became one person, at least in terms of the language of art, because we built a modus operandi that identified both of us equally.”

“He was a very particular person,” Bertozzi continues, “very ironic, he had an uncommon way of seeing things, he was cheerful, he was always very strong and also positive. He never let circumstances get him down, even the negative and adverse ones we encountered on our path. He, however, dealt with problems in an extremely positive, strong way. He was an important figure for me, and I also often remember him when I talk to young people and say that when you have such an important presence by your side, things are done better with two people than alone.”

The entire city of Imola is mourning the artist’s passing. “A huge void, human and artistic, unbridgeable. With the passing of Stefano Dal Monte Casoni, our community remains orphaned of a charismatic and humble figure at the same time, a great person who was at one with his being a great artist endowed with a rare and precious sensitivity and intelligence, sometimes disorienting, always authentic,” said Imola Mayor Marco Panieri. “His ability, in the fruitful Bertozzi & Casoni partnership, to transform earth into ceramics and ceramics into a work of art, to the point of making it a universally recognized and appreciated artistic language throughout the world, is a precious gift for all of us that will live forever.”

As recalled by the mayor himself, Stefano Dal Monte Casoni had a strong bond with his city: “In his being universal, he always kept his bond with the city very close, under the banner also of a generosity of spirit that goes far beyond the donations, of the highest prestige, to the civic museums and is characterized precisely by that desire to keep his roots here firmly, in the name of a genuine willingness to listen and also to put himself at the disposal of his community. We will miss his humanity and kindness, his smile, his irony and the artistic fruits he could still have reaped.”

“He was an incredible talent,” Valter Galavotti, former city councilor for Culture, remembers him with these words. “In front of their ceramics people were astonished, discovering that it was indeed ceramics. I remember a dog kennel, donated to the Imola museum, with kibbles, cookies, a cigarette butt.... Unbelievable. They broke through and established themselves in the world, they were also good at moving in the art world. I feel very sorry for Casoni, he was a very good guy. Now the city will have to think about a tribute: he deserves it.”

Pictured: Stefano Casoni. Photo: Lorenzo Palmieri

Farewell to Stefano Casoni of the Bertozzi&Casoni duo. Paolo Bertozzi: we were one person

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