"Alchemy" Reinvents Rookwood Tile

With an invitation from the GAA Foundation, Terry Boling, Associate Professor of Practice with the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP Program, and his team of 24 students are showcasing Alchemy in Venice ahead of the May 26 to November 11 run of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition (titled FREESPACE) to install their own work in Venice’s Giardino della Marinaressa, located along the city’s monumental waterfront, an opportunity to share Cincinnati with the global design community.

There’s something important and innately human about toiling away at something with your hands instead of at a computer. It’s a different kind of work. It teaches you a different kind of persistence and a different kind of patience entirely. – Andrew Campbell, DAAP Graduate Student 

Photo credit: Sanjay Sridhar, University of Cincinnati

With over 1000 tiles and 8,000 pounds of materials, Alchemy took six weeks to be transported across the ocean. It now lives in a city bustling with artistic and architectural excitement bringing in over 500,00 visitors from 65 countries to see the 71 exhibitors for the most revered and prestigious architectural exhibition worldwide. The installation itself is an all-encompassing rainbow room of proprietary Rookwood glazes, adding a key, colorful, feature to this installation in tandem with the iconic ‘makers mark,’ all of which through their innovative reuse, pay homage to Rookwood’s core values:

“Rookwood Pottery resonates with Alchemy, especially in regard to its themes of Sustainability and Community, and we are so are proud to join other local suppliers to support DAAP in their efforts for this exhibition by repurposing Rookwood Tile in an innovative, artistic way.”