Lead the Way

Bacoli, Italy

Filling the space where water once occupied, a gallery appears. The former ruin is now repurposed as a contemporary exhibition space showcasing the ceramic work of Bruno Gambone. Just as the site is surrounded by the coast, the ceramic gallery is guided by a wall that leads the visitor through the spaces. At times the path confines you, at times it releases you to wander through the ruin.

Above the cistern, the meandering wall focuses the visitor’s views inwards towards the ruin below, with occasional glimpses of the subterranean gallery. In the ceramic gallery below, a guiding wall leads the way through the art gallery. The curvature of the gallery walls and displays reiterates the prominent curvature of the arches above, creating a sequence thought the spaces that is both defined and familiar. The cistern is now transformed from a place for water to a gallery for clay.