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    Biological Cells and Chinese Ceramic Traditions Coalesce in Shiyuan Xu’s Porcelain Sculptures

    “Hybrid #7” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19 x 9.5 x 15 inches. All images courtesy of Shiyuan Xu, shared with permission

    Biological Cells and Chinese Ceramic Traditions Coalesce in Shiyuan Xu’s Porcelain Sculptures

    March 3, 2025

    ArtCraftNature

    Kate Mothes

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    From seeds to the world’s smallest organisms, the inspiration for Shiyuan Xu’s porcelain sculptures (previously) originates in biology. Fascinated by the patterns, shapes, and structures of a wide variety of creatures, the artist creates intricate interpretations of cells, the essential building blocks of all life forms.

    Working meticulously with porcelain Paperclay—a mix of clay and cellulose fibers—and glaze, Xu sculpts webbed, amorphous forms that appear amoeba-like, as if expanding and contracting. She is deeply influenced by the work of Scottish mathematical biologist D’Arcy Thompson (1860–1948), whose seminal book On Growth and Form traces the scale and shapes of living things.

    “Hybrid #9” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19 x 8.5 x 21.5 inches

    A “diagram of forces” is how Thompson described the form of a specimen. For Xu, this dynamic evaluation shapes how she translates micro life forms into her work. “It is about movement, time, and space,” she says. “It records the way they move and grow; the way they react to the surrounding environment by interacting, altering, evolving and adapting to generate infinite new forms.”

    Xu views the history of porcelain as deeply intertwined with her own memories and identity, and she often employs a classic Chinese ceramic color palette in her pieces. The irregular structures and ombre colors reference the artist’s personal experiences. She says:

    Being an outsider in America for the past decade, my experience offers me a new perspective to reflect my own cultural heritage… The repetitive and labor-intensive process serves as a therapeutic response to the challenges of my experience in navigating dual cultures. My pieces are in many ways like living organisms, a metaphor for the evolving nature of life itself, and my own journey and roots.

    If you’re in London, you can see Xu’s work in a small exhibition dedicated to Chinese contemporary studio craft at the V&A, and her work will be included in a handful of forthcoming juried exhibitions in Portugal, Italy, and Missouri. Find more on her website.

    “Blue Vein #15” (2024), colored porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 23 x 10 x 15 inches

    Detail of “Blue Vein #15”

    “Vena Celadon #5” (2025), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 24 x 9 x 14.5 inches

    Detail of “Vena Celadon #5”

    “Hybrid #6” (2023), colored porcelain Paperclay, and glaze, 23 x 11 x 10.5 inches. Photo by Guy Nichol

    “Hybrid #5” (2023), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 20 x 11 x 17 inches. Photo by Guy Nichol

    “Hybrid #8” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19.5 x 8.5 x 16.5 inches

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    Joan Clare Brown Juxtaposes Anatomy and Memories in Poignant Porcelain Sculptures

    “Ed #13” (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 6 x 8 inches. Photos edited by Nash Quinn. All images courtesy of Joan Clare Brown, shared with permission

    Joan Clare Brown Juxtaposes Anatomy and Memories in Poignant Porcelain Sculptures

    February 11, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Depending on how you look at them, the tendrils seemingly growing from Joan Clare Brown’s porcelain bases could be perceived as soft and delicate or spiny, defensive, and slightly unsettling. Dualities lie at the heart of the artist’s approach to ceramics, especially in her ongoing series Ed, which takes personal experience and human anatomy as starting points for a poignant study of grief.

    “I started this series as a response to my father’s sudden passing,” Brown tells Colossal. “He was diagnosed with widespread pancreatic cancer and passed away the same day, ultimately of sepsis from complications of a perforated bowel.” In the Ed works, the cinched base, which mimics a frilly-edged textile cushion or pouch, represents a perforated organ, and the long, growing blades or tendrils emblematize infection.

    “Ed #5” (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 6 x 4 x 5 inches

    The inherent hardness and brittleness of porcelain juxtapose with the softness of textile-like surfaces and organic, plant-like fronds. Each color reflects specific childhood memories of Brown’s father, like the blue and green hues drawn from his favorite flannel shirt or light pinks and purples redolent of a tablecloth used at her family dinners.

    “Through the permanence of the ceramic form, my hope was to turn something menacing and insidious into a nostalgic and meaningful reminder,” Brown says. “And by making these pieces, in a way, I feel that he is still present.”

    Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “Ed #16” (2023), porcelain, mason stain, glaze, and luster, 7 x 6 x 4 inches

    Detail of “Ed #13”

    “Ed #10” (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 5 x 5 inches

    “Ed #11” (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 8 x 7 inches

    “Ed #12” (2023), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 5 x 4 inches

    Detail of “Ed #11”

    “Ed #4” (2022), porcelain and mason stain, 7 x 4 x 4 inches

    “Ed #3” (2022), porcelain, mason stain, glaze, and luster, 8 x 6 x 4 inches

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    Deniz Kurdak Crafts Fragility and Resilience in Embroidered Depictions of Porcelain

    “Pieces on Green,” 25 x 35 centimeters. All images courtesy of Deniz Kurdak, shared with permission

    Deniz Kurdak Crafts Fragility and Resilience in Embroidered Depictions of Porcelain

    January 27, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    “What draws me to the motif of ceramics is the deep sense of belonging they evoke in me,” says Deniz Kurdak. The London-based artist is fascinated by blue-and-white porcelain—a style that originated in China as early as the 7th century and was broadly imitated and collected around the globe—and the way certain pieces inspire familiarity. She adds, “They have even found their way into my grandmother’s home.”

    Themes of identity, belonging, and memory play central roles in Kurdak’s work, as she draws on personal histories and bases her compositions on real objects that remind her of pieces her grandmother owned.

    “Fragments,” 30 x 40 centimeters

    “Growing up with an abusive father, I found sanctuary in my grandparents’ home—a safe, predictable, and nurturing space where I felt accepted,” the artist tells Colossal. “Along with my admiration for blue-and-white porcelain, my passion for textiles and embroidery was passed down to me by my grandmother.”

    Bringing conceptual elements to needlework, a craft traditionally dismissed in art circles as “women’s work,” she emphasizes expression and narrative. “I like to reimagine the acts of cutting, stitching, and embroidering as forms of emotional repair,” she says, “allowing me to reconstruct and navigate the complexities of my personal history.”

    Long associated with its calming and meditative nature, “embroidery has become both a medium and a means of reflection in my artistic process,” Kurdak says. Seemingly at odds with making intimate and methodical stitches, her images suggest the violence of breakage, suddenness, and the relationship between ornament and utility.

    Kurdak is intrigued by dualities—fragility and resilience, belonging and displacement—which mirror the tensions and contradictions of the human condition. Contrasting brittle yet durable porcelain with pliable yet resistant fabric and thread, she highlights polarities in the act of merging the ideas together.

    “Not Even Close,” 48 x 48 centimeters

    Blue-and-white porcelain predominantly inspires Kurdak’s compositions, but she also renders red, green, or multi-colored pieces in textiles, too. She uses a wide range of needlework and fabric techniques, including appliqué, lacework, and embroidery. Vases appear to melt into streams, lacy decorations hover above the surface, and motifs rearrange into puzzle-like grids or dynamic swirls.

    If you’re in London, “Willow” is currently on view at the Young Masters Art Prize Finalists Exhibition through April 8. Kurdak’s work will be included in Collect Art Fair opening in late February at Somerset House, followed by Affordable Art Fair in March in New York. Learn more on her website, and followed updates on Instagram.

    “Willow,” 60 x 60 centimeters

    “Jar Descending,” 120 x 90 centimeters

    “Anguish in Blue,” 27 x 47 centimeters

    Detail “Anguish in Blue”

    “Disjointed,” 49 x 49 centimeters

    “Dissolving Willow,” 55 x 55 centimeters

    “Mother Jar,” 80 x 80 centimeters

    Detail of “Pieces on Green”

    “This Beyond,” 49 x 49 centimeters

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    Chunbo Zhang Sandwiches Rich American Fare Between Ancient Chinese Treasures

    All images courtesy of Chunbo Zhang, shared with permission

    Chunbo Zhang Sandwiches Rich American Fare Between Ancient Chinese Treasures

    January 24, 2025

    ArtFood

    Grace Ebert

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    In Chunbo Zhang’s Food Treasure series, cheese oozes from a patterned porcelain crust, while grease pools around a burger with a ceramic-like bun. Painted in acrylic or watercolor, the delicate compositions capture the gluttony and excess of the quintessential American diet.

    Zhang, who’s based in Chicago, began the series in 2018 after moving to the U.S. and was struggling to adapt to her new surroundings, particularly regarding food. “It is not only essential in our daily life but also an entry point for foreigners to understand an unfamiliar culture,” she tells Colossal.

    The artist found American dairy products difficult to digest and popular desserts like donuts and Oreos far too sweet. As she wondered how to bridge the divide between her Chinese background and adopted home, she began to paint realistic renderings of epicurean delights like deep-dish pizza and bagels thick with schmear. Except where a viewer might expect to find a glistening egg-wash glaze or crispy crust, Zhang painted motifs from antique porcelain.

    Food Treasure depicts many of the dishes on a larger scale, nodding to both the immense portions of the American diet and also the outsized impact meals have on shaping our cultural identities. Each work emphasizes myriad tensions: hard and soft, raw and cooked, inedible and nourishing, ancient and contemporary, functional and decorative, high and low aesthetics. Reflecting Zhang’s anxieties, the works ask, “Do the two cultures fight each other or can they merge?”

    Questions like this are fundamental to the series and inform how Zhang chooses reference imagery from Chinese wares that correspond to the dish. For example, the cheeseburger is sandwiched between a motif that represents long life and happiness, another dichotomy considering the diner fare is unlikely to find itself among any dietician’s recommendations. These patterns also reflect movement and migration as blue-and-white porcelain and elaborate, vivid florals emerged from cultural exchanges dating back to the 13th century.

    In 2023, Zhang began to think about the ways food travels and painted an iteration of a drippy cheeseburger on remnants of a large FedEx box. The cardboard canvas references to-go culture and how pre-prepared and restaurant meals are often removed from their original context and consumed.

    Several works from the Food Treasure series are on view through April 27 in Sustenance & Land at Elmhurst Art Museum. Find more on Zhang’s website.

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

    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

    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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    Vipoo’s Exuberant Porcelain Characters Emanate Optimism and Togetherness

    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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    Idiosyncratic Ceramic Sculptures by Janny Baek Evoke Nature and Desire

    “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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