Tecla Tofano (1927 in

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, Italy – 1995 in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela) was an Italian-born Venezuelan artist, ceramicist, and writer active from the 1950s until her death. Tofano studied ceramics and enamel with Miguel Arroyo at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Applicadas (School of Fine and Applied Arts, Caracas), alongside fellow students and ceramicists, Cristina Merchán and Reyna Herrera. A member of the cooperative Forma Veinte (Form Twenty), her works garnered wide acclaim, and she became known for her controversial, political, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

imagery.

Artwork

Two distinct phases characterize her oeuvre: from 1955 to 1963, Tofano worked in a more traditional vein, creating

utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

objects with

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and textured surfaces; thereafter, she became unconcerned with her work's usefulness, instead creating uniquely expressive sculptures from clay. Tofano's ceramics were charged with

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, and

humor Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...

Exhibitions and awards

Tofano was awarded the National Prize for Applied Arts in XIX Official Venezuelan Art Salon (1958) and the gold and silver medals at the International Exhibition of Contemporary Ceramics (in

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in 1961 and

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in 1962). She created series of works for display in exhibitions, such as ''Los accesorios'' (The Accessories, 1970) – featuring handbags, shoes, and other feminine items – and ''Lo que comen los que comen'' (What People Who Eat Eat, 1973), a feast of ceramic food complete with table, chairs, and diners. She was part of the faculty of the school of architecture and

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at the

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(1959–80). From 1977 until 1987, Tofano refrained from exhibiting her work and focused instead on her writing, and

feminist activism The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...

undertaken through the women's collective, Miércoles. Her work returned to the public realm in 1987 and 1989, when she exhibited her drawings. Her work was featured in the exhibition Moderno: Design for Living in

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, and

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. Between 1940 and 1978, her work was featured at the

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, New York City (February 11 – May 16, 2015) and in the exhibition, Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985 in the

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in 2018. In 2022, her work was included in the thematic exhibit ''A Leaf a Gourd a Shell a Net a Bag a Sling a Sack a Bottle a Pot a Box a Container'' for the

59th Venice Biennale The 59th Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2022, having been delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic directo ...

Writing

Tofano wrote extensively as a columnist for the '' El Nacional'' newspaper in addition to several books, including ''Quién inventó la silla'' (Who Invented the Chair, 1968), ''Yo misma me presento'' (I Presented Myself, 1973), and ''Ni con el pétalo de una rosa'' (Not with Rose Petals, 1975).

References

Bibliography

* Barbieri, Nelly. ''El movimiento cerámico en Venezuela''. Caracas: CONAC, 1998. * ''Diccionario biográfico de las artes visuales en Venezuela''. Caracas: Fundación Galería de Arte Nacional, 2005. * ''Moderno: Design for Living in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, 1940–1978''. New York: Americas Society, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tofano, Tecla 1927 births 1995 deaths 20th-century women artists Venezuelan artists Venezuelan women ceramists Venezuelan ceramists 20th-century ceramists Italian emigrants to Venezuela