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The concept of imitation has been dominating ceramic production for some years now. Cersaie 2016 confirmed this trend, leaving however glimpses of other important new style directions.

a detail of Cromomaterioteca® presented by Oikos at their stand at Cersaie 2016

The transmutation of characters and properties of one material to another is one of the most fertile aspects of contemporaneity. The latest edition of Cersaie confirmed the trend of many manufacturers to develop ceramics that present properties that in nature belong to raw materials with diverse physical characteristics and appearances. At the fair this year we found tiles and elements in porcelain stoneware that emulate other materials – from wood, in all its variations, to natural stone as well as concrete, resins and interesting incursions into the world of textiles.

Arte Pura di Daniela Dallavalle per Ceramiche Refin — **Top:** a detail of Cromomaterioteca® presented by Oikos at their stand at Cersaie 2016. **Above:** Arte Pura by Daniela Dallavalle for Ceramiche Refin

Inkjet printing has revolutionised the decorative ceramic industry in a relatively short time. In the last ten years the quality of the product has changed considerably. Thanks to technological advances in digital printing, the imitations have become more faithful and the surfaces reproduce in fine detail the tones, grain, transparencies, brightness and colours of the original material. So while the world of natural stone continues its long struggle against imperfection, that of ceramic reproduces irregularity to conjure up the authenticity of handcrafted finishes.

The concept of imitation has taken over. In his Logic, Aristotle would have called artefacts of this type ‘fakes’, defining such things as false because they induce a falsity in the judgement of the person who is deceived. But it is also true that the beauty of woods and natural minerals coexist in these proposals with the practicality and resistance of ceramic.

Ceramica Sant'Agostino, after having launched on the ceramic market a state-of-the-art fabric effect, presents its development with the launch of the Tailorart collection

Although the level of demand for surfaces that reproduce natural materials like wood, marble and stone is likely to remain high, new aesthetic directions are also emerging. On the one hand, we are looking decisively at reproductions from the world of textiles, from embroideries to classic patterns, while there is evidence on the other of an increase in the range of formats and a parallel extension of the spectrum of colours and finishes that combined together, become a decorative system.

The Waterfall series by Lea Ceramiche physically and realistically represents slate, an ancient and natural stone

Putting together different formats, colours and finishes – taken from existing ranges and collections – new textures for floors and walls can be created. Special sizes complete the collections to create a variety of decorative effects, enabling the creation of potentially infinite graphic contrasts and combinations. Alternating material surfaces creates a dialogue graduated colour combinations, in a dynamic game of form and geometry.

Francesco Librizzi designed and built the stand for Ali Parquets at Cersaie 2016 like a photographic set for presenting the many facets of the exquisite woods in the collection

Elements projects by Ceramiche Keope

Room by Atlas Concorde, in which the surface in matt porcelain stoneware resembles fine yarns and presents a dense and consistent texture

Textile Concrete by the manufacturer Rak Ceramics – multinational company based in the UAE – is a collection of tiles in glazed porcelain stoneware with an innovative texture that combines the durability of concrete with the soft feel of fabric

The Pætchwork collection designed by Piero Lissoni for Cotto Thailand, includes tiles, sanitary-ware and taps

Marcel Wanders, Eve collection for Bardelli Ceramiche: glazed white-body tiles screen-printed with roller

Blu Ponti Cellection by Ceramica Francesco De Maio. The company has obtained the original licence for the reproduction of 30 blue and white patterns that Gio Ponti designed between 1960 and 1962 for the Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento

Thanks to digital printing, the Urban project by 14oraitaliana interprets ceramic via small monochromatic elements of material, rubbed and worn by time

The Rêve by Mirage is a porcelain stoneware collection with a resin effect

With their high-end range Rex Ceramiche Artistiche, Florim presented at Cersaie 2016 new versions of the I Classici di Rex series, a collection of claddings in full-body, coloured, porcelain stoneware

Made with by applying the latest digital technology to porcelain stoneware tiles, the Marmoker series by Casalgrande Padana presents ceramic that reworks the properties of quarried marbles

Left: with the SapienStone brand, Iris Ceramica Group launched at Cersaie the new brand dedicated to kitchen tops. Right: Powder by Marazzi, is a reinterpretation in porcelain stoneware of urban concrete, with a soft surface and random patterns characterised by subtle and graduated haloes that bring out the irregularities in the material

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Realer than real

The concept of imitation has been dominating ceramic production for some years now. Cersaie 2016 confirmed this trend, leaving however glimpses of other important new style directions.

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