Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2016

I designed this exhibition working with curator, Marietta Cambareri.

This exhibition featured 50 objects produced by the della Robbia family workshop in 15th century Florence. The della Robbia family invented a technique for glazing terra-cotta that achieved opacities of white, blue, green and yellow not seen before. The secret recipe and technique was passed on among the family, but then lost when the workshop closed after about a century.

Design and Layout

This exhibition was organized in three sections based on virtues for daily life in Renaissance Florence: Hope, Love and Faith. I created three open spaces in the rectangular gallery that bled into one another and allowed for works that bridged themes. 

The first section, Hope, contained all of the domestic objects. The ceiling was lower to enhance the domestic feel. At the back of this space was an 11 foot wide, 1000 lb overdoor that lead into the main room of the exhibition. 

The masterpiece of the show was a life-size sculpture of The Visitation in the middle section. I designed a slight niche behind it, and a raised platform, to set it apart and allude to its original setting. For the architectural details in the show, including wall details and the pedestals, I used subtle references to Renaissance architecture while maintaining a modern simplicity. 

Color and Lighting

Color is important to the della Robbia story. The show began with a dark blue entry space, low light and spot lighting to showcase the domestic objects that were made for a more intimate private setting. In contrast, the rest of the show opened up with a brighter palette of light grays, showcasing the blues and greens in the work and allowing the whites to pop.

Photographs courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.