Solo exhibition curated by Francesca Bianucci and Chiara Cinelli
INAUGURATION
Tuesday 27 May 2025
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
CURTI KILN, MILAN
ENCLAVE Space
27 – 30 May 2025
Milan, 13 May 2025 – From 27 to 30 May 2025, Fornace Curti in Milan will host the solo exhibition ‘YAYA. Il respiro della terra’ (YAYA. The Breath of the Earth), which celebrates the artist’s twenty-five-year career, offering the public a broad and articulate overview of his sculptural production in terracotta. The exhibition will be inaugurated on Tuesday 27 May in the presence of the artist.
The exhibition, housed in the Enclave space inside the Fornace Curti, a historical place where YAYA took her first steps as a sculptor, presents a selection of works in terracotta, a material with which the artist has always had a privileged and deeply symbolic relationship. The earth, with its ancestral memory and its ability to transform, represents for YAYA not only a ductile and living material, but a travelling companion, a silent interlocutor with whom to establish an intimate dialogue, the medium through which emotions, visions, personal myths and intuitions can emerge.
This exhibition does not limit itself to collecting the most significant works of YAYA’s career, with a focus on her production in terracotta, but takes the form of a true emotional journey, in which the material becomes the voice of a deep, intimate and at the same time universal feeling. The exhibition itinerary is accompanied by the presentation of a rich monographic catalogue, which delves into the artist’s evolution through an extensive photographic apparatus, critical texts and an interview in which the artist talks about himself with an open heart.
YAYA’s artistic and human journey is an intense and multifaceted one, marked by significant encounters, decisive turning points and a never-ending quest for expression. From illustration to photography, from graphics to sculpture, his path is marked by constant experimentation with languages and materials, in search of an authentic and personal artistic voice.
YAYA shares her many years’ journey with the public, recounting, through her works, the experiences that have shaped her, the courageous choices that have defined her artistic identity, and her deep connection with clay, which she describes in these words꞉ “The earth contains within itself the four elements of nature, it is alive, welcoming and ductile. When I mould clay, I establish a direct contact with it: I feel that my energy, my thoughts and my state of mind are imprinted in the material. Every little nuance, every polished or modelled surface is a reflection of a precise moment’.
The artist defines his artistic work as ‘breathing manipulation’: a slow, patient gesture that requires listening, time and an almost spiritual contact with the clay. A central aspect of his technique is his ability to transform the apparent static nature of sculpture into a living, vibrant body; his figures are distinguished by a silent dynamism, made up of twists, internal tensions, suspended gestures that seem to capture the very moment of metamorphosis. Colour is employed with expressive boldness, accentuating the vital breath of forms. YAYA’s works are animated by a quiet yet intense force. In the skilfully moulded bodies, in the surfaces marked by imprints, engravings and imperfections, one grasps a profoundly poetic vision of sculpture: not as an imitation of reality but as an expression of an inner breath, of a profound dialogue between artist and material.
The themes addressed in his sculptures recur with coherence and evocative force: the female figure, understood as an archetype of strength, fragility and transformation; symbolism and mythology, drawing on an ancient and universal imagery; nature as a living and sacred organism; spirituality as a silent and personal quest, never ostentatious. Enigmatic figures, earth spirits and creatures that seem to come from a remote dream populate a universe in which myth is intertwined with everyday life, and matter is charged with memory and meaning.
At the centre of YAYA’s artistic research is always the human being, captured in his vulnerable and authentic dimension. His sculptures do not seek perfection, but tell of imperfection as a value, as a trace of the life that passes through us. The surfaces preserve signs, fractures, movements, as evidence of the very process of creation. Each work is born from a direct confrontation with the material, in a dialogue that sometimes leads the artist to modify the initial idea, letting the earth suggest new directions and new forms.
Over time, YAYA has been able to expand his expressive vocabulary, also exploring the use of enamel, while always maintaining a strong link with the purity of bare clay. From a technical point of view ,’ the artist observes, ‘ an important turning point in my recent career has been the discovery of enamel. In the past, I was very attached to the purity of terracotta, intervening only with small touches of colour, mainly oxides, which did not alter the material significantly. Enamel, while not distorting the material, allowed me to combine sculpture and painting. Today, I have found a point of balance, a conciliation that enriches my expressive language and opens up new possibilities for my artistic research.
This exhibition is not only a tribute to the artist’s career, but also an invitation to enter a world of listening, of respect for the slow time of creation, of attention to the essential. YAYA offers us art that looks at the human with a poetic gaze, that does not shout but whispers, that does not exhibit but welcomes. At a time when everything flows quickly and seems to strive spasmodically for perfection, YAYA’s sculptures remind us of the value of the slow gesture, of the imperfect form, of the work that springs from feeling to reach, with delicacy, the heart of the beholder.
In my artistic research,’ the artist finally observes, ‘I pursue the poetry of form in its incessant becoming, seeking a harmony capable of tuning into the breath of life. Each sculpture is a suspended tale, a fragment of a narrative that is fulfilled only in the gaze of the observer, interweaving unique emotions and perceptions. Through my works, I wish to evoke a feeling of magic, to give voice to matter so that it reveals the reflection of a continuous change, that imperceptible transformation that belongs to each of us. My sculptures are material evocations, guardians of a flowing time, where the roundness of form becomes a symbol of acceptance and metamorphosis. In this perennial flux, they mould and guard the vibrations of the soul.
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YAYA IN ART
YAYA was born in Brescia in a family where art is an integral part of everyday life. As a child, she developed a strong artistic sensitivity, inspired by her painter mother who guided her in the discovery of sign and colour.
After finishing her art studies, YAYA moved to Milan, a city where art and creativity merge with the dynamism of visual communication. Here she started her career as an illustrator of children’s books, before exploring other expressive languages such as photography and advertising graphics. She worked for several agencies, honing her design skills and creativity until becoming an art director. She then founded and ran her own advertising agency for fifteen years.
Her expressive research evolves into a spiritual path that leads her to mature a more intimate and profound need and to discover in terracotta the ideal material to give shape to her emotions and artistic intuitions. Fundamental to her growth is the encounter with important artists and art masters, including Anselma Ferrari, who introduces her to the techniques of sculpture with an approach that enhances the expressive power of the material. Through constant and passionate work, YAYA develops a masterly technical mastery, managing to give dynamism, intensity and depth to her works.
Since 2000, his research has increasingly focused on the emotional and spiritual dimension of sculpture. His creations, mainly made of terracotta and bronze, are distinguished by a vibrant expressiveness and evocative poetics that convey a sense of introspection and inner movement. His style is nourished by a constant dialogue between matter and spirit, transforming sculpture into a bridge between the visible and invisible, between form and feeling. His works, charged with energy and sensitivity, tell stories steeped in emotion and humanity, leaving a deep mark on the observer. Today YAYA lives and works between Milan and Versilia, places where he continues his incessant artistic research, always experimenting with new languages, thanks to his constantly evolving creative vision.
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We would like to thank Omeoart, Boiron Cultural Association, for support in setting up.
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YAYA
The Breath of the Earth
exhibition curated by Francesca Bianucci and Chiara Cinelli
Curti Furnace
ENCLAVE Space
Via Walter Tobagi 8 – 20143 Milan
Inauguration
Tuesday 27 May 2025
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Exhibition opening
27 – 30 May 2025
admission free
Opening hours
10 a.m. to 12 noon
from 14.00 to 16.00
For information
02 8135049
