Victor Cerrato

Italian, 1917 - 2008

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Victor Cerrato (born 1917 in Cunico d’Asti, Italy – died 2008 in Turin) was an Italian sculptor, ceramist and designer whose post‑war creative practice merged artisanal ceramics with functional modern‑furniture and decorative objet design. Early in his career he opened the “Cerrato Ceramiche” atelier in Turin’s Valentino district in the years immediately following World War II, where he produced sculptural garden statues, fireplace panels, majolica wall‑coverings, and small‑series furnishings. He first attracted international attention in 1950 when he was invited to exhibit a sculpture in the “Italy at Work” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. In the 1950s and 1960s his work embraced glazed ceramics, abstract calligraphic decoration, and architectural furniture pieces — for example tables, cabinets and consoles combining ceramic veneers, metal frames and sculptural reliefs. His pieces are recognised for bridging the boundary between sculpture and functional art, and today his ceramics and furnishings are collected within the vintage Italian mid‑century market.