Tommaso Corvi-Mora (b. 1969) is artist and gallerist. He opened his first gallery in London in 1995. Corvi-Mora, the gallery, represents a swathe of artists, and creates conceptual links between contemporary art and ceramics, showing works by Sam Bakewell, Shawanda Corbett, Myra Greene and Julian Stair amongst many others.
After enrolling in an evening ceramics course in 2009, he quickly discovered his love for the medium and has been making work ever since. In 2013 his gallery was one of the first to incorporate the work of notable ceramic artists within a contemporary art programme.
His own ceramic works have been exhibited internationally, including Salon 94 in New York, at the ICA Milano, Tristan Hoare and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, both in London, and also in various presentations curated by Duro Olowu. He was an Award Winner at the 3rd Edition of the Open to Art Ceramic Award, Milan in 2019 and his work was selected for the 61st Faenza International Prize for Ceramics in 2020.
I first encountered his work in 2016 at Camden arts centre in the show “Making and Unmaking” which was curated by Duro Olowu. It was a very tactile show, with political implications to much of the work, and I was struck both by the vessels he made and that they were displayed low to the ground.
He brings a particularly unusual perspective to our conversation, as he is a professional curator and gallerist, works with artists and collectors, and is also a maker and collector himself. I was really pleased to speak with him in his lovely office above his gallery space, surrounded by works in his collection. We talk about collecting and displaying objects, collecting as a child, and planning for the future of your collection.
Thanks as always to CCW Research and the Centre for Circular Design who funded this podcast, project manager Meghan Hutchins and illustrator Debbie Powell who helped bring it to life.
