Articles

By Katherina Perlongo (un)Known Territories is the title of the exhibition that, from May 29 to July 31, presented ceramic works by 32 finalists of the fifth edition of the Officine Saffi Award in the foundation's new headquarters located in Via Niccolini 35a, in the middle of the vibrant Sarpi-Chinatown district of Milan. The exhibition and the associated prize, which...

By Doug Navarra Many years ago, having just discovered the potter’s wheel, my high school woodshop teacher saw my interest. He himself, a wood sculptor, invited me to see an exhibition of Toshiko Takaezu at our hometown Heckscher Museum in Huntington, NY. The year was 1971; I would have been either 15 or 16 years old and only been on...

Part I. Review of Debra Sloan: Les Grandes DamesPart II. Interview with Debra Sloan By Amy Gogarty Vancouver artist Debra Sloan is best known for her ceramic sculptures of animals and infants, which exude personality and often humour. Her babies, in particular, bely uncritical sentimentality in their frank displays of frustration, anger, and resistance. With her latest exhibition at the...

By Hendrien Horn As clay 3D printing has started to become popular amongst some potters, it has become a topic of debate, which can, at times cause some opposing opinions. Furthermore, I think that once an artistic process is better understood, the doors for a healthy conversation can open. As a potter who has worked with both “traditional” and “technological”...

By Nathan J. Timpano I became acquainted with the science of anatomy, but this was not sufficient; I must also observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body.Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818) When encountering sculptural works in Carlos Enrique Prado’s two newest series, Stubborn: The Way of Sorrows and Cabeza Dura (“Hardheaded” in English), one might be reminded of...

Part I. Salutations of Material, Exaltations of MaterialityPart II. Interview with Niels Dietrich By Doug Navarra When you arrive at Peter Freeman Inc Gallery in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, I ask the viewer to please leave your preconceptions of ceramic art at the door. This group exhibition of ceramics titled “Made in Cologne” is different for several reasons. If...

By Derek Larsen The city of Kyoto holds a special place in the hearts of the Japanese people. The center of the ancient empire for over one thousand years, Kyoto remains the cultural capital of Japan. The ceramic arts of Kyoto are diverse and centuries-old, traditionally connected to the Zen tea ceremony, related kaiseki formal meal, and flower arranging. Referred...

By Emma Park Over a hundred makers from around the world exhibited at this year's Ceramic Art London. The fair was held in Kensington Olympia West, a huge warehouse divided into white-walled display booths and a large open space for talks. Makers at CAL exhibit not with galleries but at their own individual stalls, enabling viewers to explore their oeuvre...

By Mariane Tremblay, 2024 What would be an "experimental exercise in the cultural identity of materiality"? Summer 2023: let's look back at a provoked, if not improbable, meeting between a Quebecer and a Hungarian, from two generations of ceramists, who asked themselves this question inherent in their medium. Contamination et matérialité culturelle brings together the results of a month of...

By Soph Boobyer, Sarah Myerscough, and Lottie Hughes Rhythmic gestures and evolving figuration - to bind body and clay feels intrinsic. Yet, amongst the suggestions of a shapely Amphora, or fleshy textures of leather-hard clays, there is a yearning to expand upon ceramic practices as informed by the traces of a living body. 'Earthly Bodies' is the third major ceramic...

Judy Hoffman: Evolvers and Wildtypes is on view at Sculpture Space NYC, New York April 5 - May 4, 2024 Sculpture Space NYC is pleased to present Judy Hoffman’s “Evolvers and Wildtypes”. In her first solo exhibition of ceramic sculpture Judy Hoffman will present over 30 works ranging in size from 4 to 20 inches high. Hoffman explores themes of...

Ceramics Now announces a new Call for Papers In honoring our commitment to showcasing the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary ceramics, Ceramics Now is launching a new call for papers and inviting essays, exhibition reviews, features on trends or major events, and insightful interviews for publication on our platform. Ceramics Now, a leading publication, is committed to showcasing the vibrancy...

Excerpt from the essay “The Role of Shikokai and Sodeisha in Postwar Ceramic Art Objects” by Kazuko Todate, Professor in the Faculty of Art and Design Center of Liberal Arts, Tama Art University, published on the occasion of the exhibition “Ceramic Frontiers: Sodeisha & Shikokai in Post-war Japanese Art” at Dai Ichi Arts, March 2024. During the first half of...

By Louise Rae Stewart Scambler's love for Western Australia shines through in his stunning wood-fired works in the 2023 John Stringer Prize, exhibited at the John Curtin Gallery from 3 November to 10 December 2023. The exhibition is an invitation-only non-acquisitive annual event for Western Australian contemporary artists. Scambler's win in this forum is a huge validation for ceramics within...

Ozioma Onuzulike: Dotted Lines, 2023 Essay by Ngozi-Omeje Ezema Over the years, ceramics have transcended through generations, changing styles, functions, and structures. Closer observation revealed these changes occurring in the Nsukka art school after the assimilation of Uli and Nsibidi designs. H.C. Ngumah opined that ‘with the formalization of ‘uli’ design as an artistic language of expression in the Nsukka...

By Wu Haoyu I. Personal Art Experience and Exploration In university, I encountered ceramics and decided to wholeheartedly immerse myself in the world of ceramic art, which is filled with infinite possibilities. Ceramics possess unique artistic characteristics, and a thorough exploration from material craftsmanship to forming techniques constitutes an exceedingly lengthy process. The scope of knowledge involved is extensive, yet...

By Aurelija Seilienė In the green city of Panevėžys, Lithuania, resides an expansive collection of contemporary ceramics. While the locals may not be entirely aware of the city's international ceramic symposiums, Panevėžys stands as a distinguished hub for global ceramists. Within the Baltic region, only three principal events underscore the realm of ceramic symposia: the Kohila Symposium in Estonia, the...

By Lilianne Milgrom Australia’s cities are vibrant and modern, and the country’s overwhelmingly urban population is diverse and hip. Yet this antipodal island’s geographic remoteness feels almost palpable – hence its nickname, The Land Down Under. Its vast, largely uninhabited interior feels omnipresent, host to a unique ecosystem that has forged a distinctive Australian spirit highly attuned to the natural...

By Kristina Rutar Ceramic’s very nature as a material dictates the way we handle and interact with it, namely gently, cleanly, and never too roughly. When on view in galleries and museums, an additional sense of distance is created, often through the physical barrier of a glass case, a marked-off region beyond which it is alright to stand and look,...

By Amy Gogarty For some forty years, potter, theorist, historian, and educator Paul Mathieu has been a powerful voice in ceramics discourse. Through his teaching, writing, lectures, exhibitions—and, now, YouTube videos—Mathieu has consistently challenged conventional models for thinking about craft, particularly ceramics. His travels have taken him to China, where he participated in numerous residencies; Europe, where he now lives...