Benedetta PompiliDesignCeramicsMaterial researchEditorials

About Benedetta Pompili (IT, 1995) is a social designer based in Amsterdam. A dedication to materials with a focus on their cultural and environmental impact identifies her practice. Her research & design works become journeys to learn, retrace, and share knowledge by thinking and acting in an interdisciplinary way.

EducationMA, Social Design, Design Academy Eindhoven (NL), Cum laude, 2019–2021.
Erasmus, Peter Behrens School of Architecture and Design, Düsseldorf (DE), 2017.
BA, Industrial Design & Ceramics, ISIA Faenza (IT), Cum laude, 2014–2018.

Recent workCeramic workshop, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL), 2023–ongoing.
Founder & designer, vuur collective, Amsterdam (NL), October 2024-ongoing.
Designer in residency, Creative Residency Arita (Japan), January–March 2024.
Lecturer, Natural Materials in Ceramics, The Material Way, January 2024–ongoing.
Fellow Researcher, LINA x TU Wien, October 2023–August 2024.
Tutor, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL), September–June 2023.
Ceramic workshop specialist, KABK, The Hague (NL), January–August 2023.
Tech Fellow, Rijskakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam (NL), Jan-Dec 2022

Selected shows Conversing with Matter, WaterSpiegelingen, Cuyperhuis (NL), June 2024–ongoing.
RAW.obj, Pioneers in Ceramics, Prinsenhof Museum Delft (NL), February–June 2024.
Conversing with Matter, Princessehof Ceramic Museum (NL), Nov 2023–2024.
In Presence of Your Absence + RAW.obj, Open Studios, Rijkskademie (NL), 2024.
In Presence of Your Absence, Hong Kong Design Institute (CH), January–May 2024.
In Presence of Your Absence, ADI Design Museum, Milan (IT), 2023.
In Presence of Your Absence, Material District, Utrecht (NL), 2023.
Vestiges, Alcova, Milan Design Week, Fuorisalone, Milan (IT), 2023.
Raw.obj, Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (NL), 2022.
SPAZIO 1/2, Drop City, Fuorisalone, Milano (IT), 2022.
Ciona Are Doing Well, SVA Bio Art Lab, New York, 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 (BE), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, From the Ground Up, Material Source Studio (UK), 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Design Open, Kazerne, Eindhoven (NL), 2021–2022.
Conversing with Matter, DDW2021, DAE Graduation Show, Eindhoven (NL).
Ciona Are Doing Well, Interspecies Futures, NY Center for Book Arts, 2020.

Publications (w)aardewerk, Volskrant Magazine, October 2024.
Schnitt Magazine, Issue 02: Craftmanship, September 2024.
Raw.obj, Pioneering Ceramics, June 2024.
Conversing with Matter, Design Unlimited Turkey, October 2023.
In Presence of Your Absence, Mousse Magazine Ed., 2023.

Conversing with Matter, DAMN Magazine, Issue N° 82, June 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Plural Magazine, 2022.
Conversing with Matter, Elementa Oslo, 2022.
Conversing with Matter, The Color Association, 2021.
Conversing with Matter, Het Financieele Dagblad, Culture section, 2021.
Conversing with Matter, Wallpaper Magazine, 2021.
Ciona Are Doing Well, Design Parallax, MDFF Greece, 2020.

RecognitionsGrant, Professionalisation and deepening of practice, Stimuleringsfonds, 2024-2025.
Grant, Starting Design Grant, Stimuleringsfonds, 2023-2024.     
Award, Young New Talent, Material District, Utrecht (NL), 2023.
Grant, Creative Residency Arita, Japan, Stimuleringsfonds, 2022-2024.
Grant, Building Talent, Stimuleringsfonds, 2021.
Nominee, Gijs Bakker Design Award, Design Academy Eindhoven, 2021.

Studio detailsKvK 84375779
Font in use: Authentic Sans by Christina Janus and Desmond Wong.

©Benedetta Pompili 2024


Quenched asbestos x Winnie Herbestein Supported by Rijskakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam
Relief of black mould spore ‘stachybotrys chartarum’, stoneware and treated asbestos glaze, 30x60x4 cm, 2024.
Panel III, treated asbestos glaze on pressed stoneware, pattern and panels realised by Winnie Herbstein, 2024.
Panel II detail, treated asbestos glaze on pressed stoneware, pattern and panels realised by Winnie Herbstein, 2024.

The series of ceramic reliefs depict a micrograph of the black mould spore ‘stachybotrys chartarum’. This specific species is found to grow on asbestos, a highly toxic material used within domestic and industrial construction.
The panels are glazed with ‘Quenched Asbestos’, a glaze composed of treated absestos and recycled glass, developed during the Techfellowship program of Rijksakademie in 2022.

Panels I, II, and III, treated asbestos glaze on pressed stoneware, pattern and panels realised by Winnie Herbstein, 2024.