Les Coleopteres Ceramics

Ceramic, art and Italian creativity. After the hand-painted porcelains of Matilde Argiolas, today we bring you the delightful ceramic beetles of Les Coleopteres.

Born from Maurizio Minerva’s passion for nature, design, graphics and ceramics, each beetle is unique: modeled, painted, and enameled by hand . Inspired by actually existing creatures, Les Coleopteres are decorated with bright, real colors that occur in nature.

Les Coléoptères, Handcrafted Ceramic Beetles Made in italy

Maurizio Minerva is a graphic designer, art director and also, as of a few years ago, a ceramicist. He lives between Rome, Tel Aviv and Salento in Puglia, where he is originally from. After years of working in international advertising agencies, he fell in love with ceramics and decided to cultivate his passion by attending the school of Emmanuelle Wittman in Paris.

Passionate about insects, he had a particular fondness for the “creepy” art known as Wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosities, a style featuring all sorts of wondrous and exotic objects such as stuffed animals and insects in the cases. This passion and style served as the initial inspiration for his work.

Maurizio finally decided to get serious about Les Coleopteres and leave his job when he moved to Tel Aviv with his partner.

He fell In love with the shiny and bright colors of beetles’ armor, and found that they were actually similar to glazed ceramic. Maurizio has now made over 50 specimens, each different from the next.

Les Coléoptères: each piece is marked

Every beetle is made following the rules of graphics: symmetry, synthesis, a few colored and balanced signs. The only difference is that the result is three-dimensional and ceramic.

Each piece is marked and has a serial number on the back. Graphic design and packaging are integral parts of the presentation, and each beetle is housed in a precious case which enhances its shape and material. It could not be otherwise in the skilled hands of its creator.

What can we say about Maurizio … well done!

P.S. You can find Les Coleopteres on their website and in a few select shops: Value Added in Milan, and from mid-November also in Paris, at Archives 18/20.