Articles

By Andrea Müller-Fincker The second edition of the international art fair for contemporary ceramics took place at Tour&Taxis in Brussels from January 22nd to 26th, 2025. The Gare Maritime area, which represents an extraordinary combination of historic industrial architecture from the beginning of the 20th century, offered a unique exhibition experience in the heart of Europe. As the only art...

By Ann Marais The first South African Clay Awards exhibition, held at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery and Clay Museum in Durbanville, outside Cape Town, from November to December 2024, marked a significant milestone for South African ceramics. It followed the gallery's accreditation as an affiliate member of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC). The IAC formally endorsed the exhibition with this accreditation,...

By Doug Navarra From the outset, I found Mai-Thu Perret's work in the exhibition titled "Underworld" at the David Kordansky Gallery in NYC to be deeply challenging, which immediately drew me to it. This challenge arises from multiple factors: the work is interdisciplinary and conceptual, departing from traditional notions of ceramics while also offering a fluidity of meaning that invites...

From September to October, Gyeonggi Province and the Korea Ceramic Foundation hosted the Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale 2024, a 45-day event held across multiple venues throughout Gyeonggi-do focusing on Icheon, Yeoju, and Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province. The Biennale featured a diverse array of programs, including exhibitions, academic conferences, and museum concerts. A distinctive aspect of this year’s Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale was...

By Jennifer Zwilling Clay is the future and the past. The earliest examples of fired ceramic objects are 25,000 years old; ceramics made today will endure well beyond 25,000 years into the future. Ceramics may very well exist on this planet long after biological life ends, as a fired piece of clay is among the human creations most immune to...

By Christina Rauh Oxbøll Throughout Autumn and Winter 2024/25, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark presents 'Martin Bodilsen Kaldahl: Cuts, Stripes, and Knots – A Ceramic Retrospective'. The exhibition offers a generous view of Kaldahl's persistent exploration of the sculptural potential of ceramics over more than three decades, complemented by several new pieces made for the exhibition. These recent works...

By Emma Park This October saw ceramics exhibited at two of the leading London fairs of the year: Frieze, for contemporary art, and PAD London, for collectible design. The ceramics on display at PAD generally gave the impression of being imposing statement pieces for display in a grand entertainment space – reflecting the interests of the very well-heeled clientèle who...

By Daria Melnikova In early September 2023, basking in the cool shade of a terrace in Gojōzaka, near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, I treated myself to a lacquer box of sake ice cream, a much-needed break after visiting the retrospective show “The Sōdeisha Group: An Era Born Out of Avant-garde Ceramics” at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. After...

By Millen Brown-Ewens More than thirty years after his untimely passing, Angus Suttie and his ceramics refuse categorisation. For the UK pottery establishment, his evocative and celebratory works represent humanism, boldness, and freedom, reflecting not only the nuances of his lived experience but also a vital and unique form of activism that chimes with contemporary resonance. A new retrospective at...

By Aleina Grace Edwards As a multimedia artist predominantly focused on ceramics, Simone Leigh is very concerned with her material—its essence and associations, its myriad histories. In the past two decades, Leigh has made a name for herself by rendering figures in clay, using racially-charged images like face jugs, cowrie shells, and stylized busts to reclaim and reconstitute the Black...

Discover the story of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in Dr. Marte Johnslien’s article, exploring how the world’s most-used white pigment shapes our world while profoundly impacting the environment. Through ceramics and glaze, her research group critically engages with TiO2’s environmental implications, connecting its mineral origins to broader societal and ecological questions, and highlighting the artistic journey of using materials from mining...

By Doug Navarra Ranti Bam premiered in May 2024 at the James Cohan Gallery, her first New York City exhibition titled Anima. I always think that my first and immediate impression is something significant when I first walk into any exhibition. This show is no different in that I stopped before entering the main gallery and took a deep breath....

By John Roloff The project and related concepts presented in Expanded Ceramics/Holocene Agriculture are an extension of over 50 years of work in ceramics that view the materials and processes of ceramics in a geologic and environmental context. Originating from my studies under Robert Arneson and Eldridge Moores as an art/geology major at UC Davis in the late 1960’s, the...

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...