Erasmus, Peter Behrens School of Architecture and Design, Düsseldorf (DE), 2017–2018.
Bachelor’s, Industrial Design & Advanced Ceramics, ISIA Faenza (IT), Cum laude, 2014–2018.
Designer in residency, Creative Residency Arita (Japan), January–March 2024.
Main lecturer in Natural Materials in Ceramics, The Material Way, January–June 2024.
Fellow Researcher, LINA x TU Wien, Vienna, October 2023–August 2024.
Tutor, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL), September 2023–June 2024.
Ceramic researcher, Bruno Baietto’s In Bones We Dwell, Dordrecht’s Museum (NL), 2023.
Ceramic workshop specialist, KABK, The Hague (NL), January–August 2023.
RAW.obj, Pioneers in Ceramics, Prinsenhof Museum Delft (NL), February 2024–ongoing.
Conversing with Matter, Princessehof Museum Leeuwarden (NL), November 2023–ongoing.
In Presence of Your Absence + RAW.obj, Open Studios, Rijkskademie, Amsterdam (NL), 2024.
In Presence of Your Absence, Hong Kong Design Institute (CH), January–May 2024.
In Presence of Your Absence, Milan Design Week, ADI Design Museum, Milan (IT), 2023.
Vestiges, Alcova, Milan Design Week, Fuorisalone, Milan (IT), 2023.
In Presence of Your Absence, Material District, Utrecht (NL), 2023.
Raw.obj, The Future of Art Making, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (NL), 2022.
Ciona Are Doing Well, SVA Bio Art Lab, New York, 2022.
SPAZIO 1/2: Worskshop “Clay Dialogues”, Drop City, Fuorisalone, Milano (IT), 2022.
Sea Silt, collaboration with Humade, Ceramics Museum Princessehof, Leeuwarden (NL), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, DAE75!, Fuorisalone, Milano (IT), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Rethinking Plastic, Yksi Expo , Eindhoven (NL), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Design Fest Gent, Design Museum Gent, Gent (BE), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, From the Ground Up, Material Source Studio, Manchester (UK), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Design Open, Kazerne, Eindhoven (NL), 2021–2022.
Conversing with Matter, Dutch Design Week 2021, DAE Graduation Show, Eindhoven (NL).
Ciona Are Doing Well, Interspecies Futures, by Oscar Salguero, NY Center for Book Arts, 2020.
Award, Young New Talent, Material District, Utrecht (NL), 2023.
Grant, Creative Residency Arita, Japan, Stimuleringsfonds, 2024.
Grant, Building Talent, Stimuleringsfonds, The Netherlands, 2021.
Nominee, Gijs Bakker Design Award, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2021.
©Benedetta Pompili 2024
For collaborations, workshops, courses, talks, or informal chit-chats feel free to contact me at:
info@benedettapompili.com
Commissioned by the Dordrecht Museum
"In Bones We Dwell and For Yours We Wait" presents a collection of porcelain pieces that revive the original recipe for bone china—a type of porcelain traditionally crafted using bone as a key ingredient: Historically associated with luxury and high prices due to its aristocratic properties, bone china has been prized since its creation in England in the mid-18th century for its white, thin, and highly flexible nature, with its components often being of significant value. It typically includes 50% cow bone ash in its composition, which adds strength and gives it a recognizable milky white colour.
In this project, the bone material from the Dordrechts Museum's archaeological archive has been incorporated into the traditional recipe. The archaeological findings are calcined and utilized as a component to produce the porcelain. The result challenges the qualities of the original recipe, questioning the luxury status of a material built on whiteness and stability, and delivers a new porcelain material with a sandy quality and unexpected behaviour.
By transforming forgotten and unused bones into a durable material, this project aims to initiate discussions on the enduring relevance of Tussenbroek's paintings and his exploration of death as a creative impulse. It underscores how, throughout the 20th century, our interaction with the deceased and their remains has remained concealed yet undeniably present, especially in a post-COVID era.
The resulting pieces, including plates and vases, juxtapose the ambience of the paintings with objects commonly found in the traditional interiors of bourgeois Europe. This reclamation emphasizes the inevitability of our human mortality, even when obscured by societal norms. The objects that surround us serve as witnesses to our inevitable decay.