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    Paper or Porcelain? Saori Matsushita Folds Delicate Ceramic into Playful Objects

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    All images courtesy of Saori Matsushita, shared with permission

    Paper or Porcelain? Saori Matsushita Folds Delicate Ceramic into Playful Objects

    January 14, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Grace Ebert

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    It might be tempting to throw one of Saori Matsushita’s paper airplanes across the room, but we promise you the landing would be less than graceful.

    From her Seattle studio, Matsushita transforms delicate sheets of porcelain into vases, mugs, and sculptures that appear as if they were folded from paper. Punctured with binder holes and the fringed edge of a torn-out sheet, the functional objects bear the iconic blue lines of a school notebook. Other works are similarly deceptive, like the cloth sack or collared-shirt vessels that capture the folds, bends, and bulges of fabric in ceramic.

    To create these pieces, Matsushita utilizes nerikomi, a Japanese pottery technique that involves layering colored bodies of clay together and then cutting them to reveal a patterned section. Stripes of blue and pink appear through stacking slabs rather than the glazing process, and the artist builds most works by hand (head to her YouTube to see more).

    When Matsushita began incorporating this labor-intensive method into her practice in 2023, it helped develop what’s now become her signature style. She shares:

    Previously, I focused on Neriage, a technique where colored clays are combined and wheel-thrown. However, I transitioned to Nerikomi and began treating porcelain sheets like origami or leather to create more unique, personal expressions of my vision. I feel this shift has allowed me to establish a style that truly reflects my individuality as an artist.

    One of Matsushita’s pieces will be featured in Saltstone Ceramics’ annual Mug Madness tournament this March. Follow the latest in her practice, along with announcements about new works available in her shop, on Instagram.

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      Embroidered Ceramic Vessels by Caroline Harrius Merge Disparate Crafts

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      All images courtesy of Caroline Harrius, shared with permission

      Embroidered Ceramic Vessels by Caroline Harrius Merge Disparate Crafts

      January 7, 2025

      ArtCraft

      Kate Mothes

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      Through tiny holes puncturing hand-shaped vessels, Stockholm-based artist Caroline Harrius (previously) embroiders delicate designs. She merges two distinct crafts—ceramics and fiber art—that don’t typically share much in common, exploring relationships between form and function, decoration and utility, and historically gendered artisanal practices.

      Harrius opens a solo show this month titled Blue Memories at Kaolin in Stockholm, the culmination of a three-month residency she undertook in Porsgrunn, Norway, after being awarded the municipality’s porcelain grant. The program comprises a collaborative effort between the local porcelain factory and Kunsthall Grenland to support contemporary artistry in the material.

      “The meeting between textile and ceramics is irrational and full of resistance,” Harrius says in a statement for the exhibition. She spent time at the Porsgruns Porcelain Factory with free reign to expand on existing ideas and apply new inspiration.

      “Next to the workshop was an antique dealer with rows of boxes marked ’10 SEK for everything!,’ filled with objects,” she says. From these trinkets, which the dealer had deemed practically worthless, Harrius imagined new floral designs.

      “I embroider in porcelain with cotton thread in an attempt to recontextualize the crafts,” she says. “I want to make an attempt to highlight all the precious and impressive craft objects that are often left behind within the walls of the home, continue to challenge hierarchies in the field, and make visible traditional female craftsmanship.”

      Blue Memories runs from January 11 to 26. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      Photo by Alexander Beveridge

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    • 100 Shares199 Views

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      Vipoo’s Exuberant Porcelain Characters Emanate Optimism and Togetherness

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      All images courtesy of Vipoo, shared with permission

      Vipoo’s Exuberant Porcelain Characters Emanate Optimism and Togetherness

      December 6, 2024

      ArtCraft

      Kate Mothes

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      Born and raised in Thailand, Vipoo Srivilasa—who often goes simply by Vipoo—moved to Melbourne more than two decades ago, where he’s created ceramic works that engage with concepts like queerness, migration, and spirituality.

      Vipoo emphasizes community, accessibility, and unwavering optimism in elegant yet playful porcelain sculptures (previously). In a range of glazes, from cobalt to gold luster to bright red, his dynamic characters gesture with their fingers in a “V” shape, usually denoting hopeful messages like “peace” or “victory.” Others appear to dance, wave, or cheer.

      “Albert” (2022)

      Titles like “Salutaris, the Patron of Well-being” or “Calma, the Spirit of Tranquility,” designate many of the figures with protective or uplifting roles. Vipoo taps into universal tenets of strong relationships and communities, like trust, fairness, and togetherness.

      The artist’s solo exhition re/JOY at the Australian Design Centre highlights a wide range of stories about people’s migration to different parts of Australia. Drawing on personal stories and mementos collected from strangers around the country, he shares diverse experiences that contribute to a collective story.

      re/JOY continues through February 19 in Darlinghurst, just outside of Sydney. And accompanying the show, a vibrant new monograph titled Positive Art Work celebrates 25 years of the artist’s career. Find more on Vipoo’s website and Instagram.

      “Circle of Trust” (2023)

      “Salutaris, the Patron of Well-being” (2024)

      “Calma, the Spirit of Tranquillity” (2024)

      “Shadowed Ally” and “White Blossoms” (2023)

      “Temporus, the Master of Time” (2024)

      Detail of a sculpture from ‘re/JOY’

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    • 125 Shares99 Views

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      Idiosyncratic Ceramic Sculptures by Janny Baek Evoke Nature and Desire

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      “Flower Power” (2024). All images courtesy of Janny Baek, shared with permission

      Idiosyncratic Ceramic Sculptures by Janny Baek Evoke Nature and Desire

      November 22, 2024

      ArtCraft

      Kate Mothes

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      “I think of my pieces as life forms that are in the process of transforming in ways that may be both wonderful and strange,” says artist Janny Baek, whose otherworldly ceramics (previously) merge vibrant color, eclectic motifs, and botanical details.

      “I’ve been incorporating blooming flowers and puffy clouds into my work to think about our intimate and complicated relationship to the natural world,” the artist tells Colossal. “Changes in shape and color imply tendencies, possibilities, desire. Familiar forms, like the open vessel, plant forms, and heads, are a way for me to connect to the lineage of making and hand-building with clay.”

      “Olive” (2024), colored porcelain, 16 x 14 x 11 inches

      Baek explores the relationship between nature, science fiction, and fantasy in her sculptures, which are often around a foot tall and wide but sometimes reach up to 20 inches high. Some sprout coral-like appendages or appear to stand on four legs.

      The artist has focused on colored porcelain using the nerikomi technique, in which multiple pigmented clays combine to create a marbling or patterned effect. Baek recently began working with rougher, sandy stoneware, which affords more freedom to scale up in size and complexity.

      “I love to have the freedom to incorporate different materials and ways of making when it fits the work,” Baek says. “Even if I shift materials or techniques, I’m always drawing from the main foundational ideas that drive my work.”

      “Walking Cloudbloom” is included in the Korean International Ceramics Biennale exhibit at the Gyeonggi Museum of Ceramic Design in South Korea. She is also working toward a three-person show at ArtYard in Frenchtown, New Jersey, scheduled to open in February. Find more on Baek’s website and Instagram.

      “Walking Cloudbloom” (2024)

      Alternate view of “Flower Power”

      “Blended Party” (2024)

      Detail of “Blended Party”

      From the ‘Flowering Vessel’ series (2024)

      “Sweater-wearing Beast” (2023)

      “Cloudbloom with Small Clouds” (2024)

      Detail of “Cloudbloom with Small Clouds”

      Work in progress in the studio

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    • 163 Shares99 Views

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      Debra Broz Merges Humor and Kitsch in a Nod to Our ‘Strange World’

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      Left: “Collie Pheasant” (2023). Right: “St. Bernard Pheasant” (2023). Both mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 10.5 x 8 x 3.5 inches. All images © Debra Broz, courtesy of Track 16 Gallery, shared with permission

      Debra Broz Merges Humor and Kitsch in a Nod to Our ‘Strange World’

      September 10, 2024

      Art Craft

      Kate Mothes

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      Vintage, mass-produced porcelain knick-knacks take on new life in Debra Broz’s intricate and uncanny hybrids (previously). Collies and St. Bernards with the bodies of pheasants meet rabbits with curiously long appendages and woodland creatures with human arms.

      In her solo exhibition Strange World at Track 16, Broz continues to explore the subversive and absurd through the leitmotif of midcentury kitsch. Whether merging two small sculptures or creating elaborate amalgamations, the artist finds the humor—and just a tinge of unease—in busyness, cuteness, and perplexity.

      “Weight of the World” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 34 x 18 x 18 inches

      Strange World, which incorporates dozens of sculptures and glazed platters, revolves around three maximalist assemblages made of hundreds of individual figurines Broz collected during the past decade. Clusters of adorable animals like big-eyed bunnies, ducks, and cows emerge from bases as if blossoming with energy.

      In a statement for the show, Track 16 describes the pieces as “darkly optimistic, synthesizing the confusion of limitless information.” Chaotic and idiosyncratically beautiful, Broz’s pieces tap into our contemporary social reality, balancing tension and overwhelm with moments of levity and clarity.

      Strange World continues through October 12 in Los Angeles. Find more on Broz’s website and Instagram.

      Detail of “Weight of the World”

      “Slightly Human: Cat & Skunk” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 4 x 5 x 3 inches

      “Slightly Human: Squirrels” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 5.25 x 7.5 x 4 inches

      “Galaxy Brain” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 25 x 22 x 18 inches

      Detail of “Galaxy Brain”

      “Slightly Human: Horse (The Champion)” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 8.5 x 7 x 4 inches

      “White Rabbit No. 33” (2024), mixed media on secondhand ceramics, 6 x 4 x 2 inches

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