'Il Piatto Forte' exhibition at Fornasetti Store, Milan, Italy

 Il Piatto Forte (the name is an Italian idiom meaning 'speciality', and plays on the concept of food and dishes) presents almost three thousand of Piero Fornasetti's ceramic and porcelain plates from the 1950s and 60s. Table set ups and meals were Fornasetti's strong passions. The show amply demonstrates his rare decorative talent in this area, with pieces featuring the more literal illustrations of foodstuffs (such as brightly-coloured seafood, classic recipes or ironic anthropomorphic compositions with vegetables) alongside collections dedicated to Italian masks, architectural drawings, astronomy and animals.
 One of his most legendary and fondly remembered collections, called Giornali, was presented in Milan in the 1950s and featured a full set of newspaper-printed items, from table-cloths to cutlery.
 The exhibition also explores the process behind each item, showing original drawings and colour guides that Fornasetti used to make sure the final products matched his original vision. Visitors will also have the chance to vote for their favorite set; the most popular will be put back into production when the exhibition closes.

Il Piatto Forte runs from 13 June to the 14 September 2013

Corso G. Matteotti 1/A, 20121 Milan; Tel: 39.02 896 580 40