On her weblog she calls herself Tona. Actually, her name is Waltraud. But Tona fits better with the Italian surname. Besides, her husband calls himself Tano. In her name, it is a simple letter reversal that bears the name of the material from which she forms works of art: TON.

Who is Waltraud Milazzo?

Waltraud Milazzo lives with her husband Gaetano in the Bavarian Oberland and is a ceramic sculptor. Who is the artist who depicts the future like a house of cards – fragile, random?

“Everyday banality burned into a work of art” is how a journalist described Waltraud Milazzo’s works. The ceramic sculptor translates everyday life into sculptures that depict people in different stages of life, making human weaknesses and greatness visible. The sculptures appear exaggerated and contradictory, have slightly satirical features, and a psychological and sometimes political deeper meaning that often only becomes apparent at “second glance”.

Milazzo takes up current social and political problems and depicts historical themes that are also relevant today. The artist is not concerned with a purely realistic depiction, but above all with emphasising the character of the people. Sometimes a detail, a hand or a posture is enough to tell a story. Unique to many of the figures is the glaze painting for which Gaetano Milazzo is responsible. He painstakingly handcrafts cobblestones, wood ash, earths and Etnalava into glaze coatings with different shades, textures and qualities. The structure and colour achieved in the process often cannot be repeated. This uniqueness of the surface is a challenge for new glaze experiments.” (https://waltraud-milazzo.de/index.htm, as of 21.05.2021) More information about Waltraud Milazzo, her art and her artistic family on her homepage and in the Milazzo family blog.