Taking Shape – Ceramics in 2021

Ceramics is one of a very few mediums that encompasses all levels of art, craft and design. It suits the contemporary artist challenging societal norms with experimental new work just as well as it suits the old-school potter who has had their hands in the clay for decades – and the maker selling functional wares for the kitchen table. From the high tech to the rustic, the serene to the chaotic, clay lends itself to a range of artistic and commercial production.

In the tableware and homewares category, new shapes and colours are emerging in clay in 2021. New forms are shying away from traditional shapes made on the wheel, exploring geometries and forms better suited to slip casting and hand building. New colours include blacks and purples, alongside pink and new shades of soft pastels.

Interestingly, the shapes of new ceramics ranges coming out now are diverging from the imperfect, wabi-sabi, wobbly shapes and rough textures that have been popular in recent years, even in the handmade category. The Good Morning range of ceramics combine the clear-cut geometries of design with a handmade materiality. Designed by Adelaide studio Daniel Emma, the pieces achieve crisp lines thanks to their method of production – these are slip cast stoneware, made and hand glazed by the team at the JamFactory. The colours are also daring, including a deep purple called Lavender (other colours are Tumeric, Dolomite and Fawn).

New forms are shying away from traditional shapes made on the wheel, exploring geometries and forms better suited to slip casting and hand building

Also achieving crisp lines through slip casting is Melbourne ceramicist Ella Reweti whose works reframe the corrugated form, famously used in metal on farm sheds and barns, but here presented in a slightly softened version through ceramics. Casts large and small, but all with the corrugated shape, are mixed and matched in twos to create a series of vases, planters and other vessels. Meanwhile, pale colours added almost like a light wash of colour bring a totally new feel to the corrugated motif, such as the Tall Tapered vase in Wheat, a citrine base with fine green flecks and in Bluegum, a eucalyptus-inspired pale green with flecks.

Also working from her home studio in Melbourne is Cassie Hansen, who throws on the wheel to create vessels, with handbuilt handles and spouts. As well as using whites and browns, black is outstanding here and incredibly contemporary. Some of the handles take exaggerated forms, seeming to defy gravity. “In ceramics it’s hard to achieve that balance between upright and slumped when working at temperatures around 1200 degrees. So when it does go right, I think it adds a deeper sense of fragility to the pieces,” says Cassie. Lately, Cassie has also been handbuilding sculptural cylindrical shapes. These and her thrown pieces feature geometries inspired by Modernist and Bauhaus architecture as well as the light and shadows in architectural photography, inspired by her other role as Editor of Artichoke magazine.

Over in the UK, London-based designer Faye Toogood works across furniture, fashion, curation and installation art (including her project Downtime: Daylight, Candlelight, Moonlight for the NGV Triennale 2021). Her studio has announced a new range of homewares including ceramics collection Dough. Inspired by the similarity of kneading dough for bread and clay for ceramics, the collection features bulbous forms that mimic the shape of rising bread dough. Four essential pieces – a mug, a pitcher, a wide bowl and a platter, plus two decorative pieces, a vase and a centrepiece – all feature these rounded chunky forms, achieved again through slip casting. The original forms were hand-shaped in the design studio before being cast in earthenware. Interestingly, black – not a shade famously used in ceramics – makes a return here, complemented by white and a charcoal grey with flecks. The range is launching soon alongside a throw rug and will be available in Australia via the UK online store (Photography: Matthew Donaldson).

Kiki Van Eijk is a Dutch designer who has been working in sculpture, furniture, household objects, wall hangings, carpets and more for 20 years. Her work is inventive, and she never repeats an idea more than once. On her website, she says she lives in a peaceful farmhouse in Eindhoven and “is never in a hurry”. The Soft collection is not new, but its form is still arresting, a series of ceramics whose surfaces take on the characteristics ­­– wrinkles, puckers and all – of fabric. The effect is like a magic trick – these pieces are as hard as any ceramics but look like soft textiles or cushions. The series includes a vessel, pot, teapot, clock, candlestick holder, piggy bank, jug and mug, lamp and even a small cabinet. Colours include pink, black, green, white, pale blue and vibrant yellow. Available on her online shop, which ships all over the world, these pieces are not practical in the everyday usage sense but are beautiful objects and talking pieces for the mantlepiece, bookshelf or sideboard.

Less of a traditional ceramicist and more of a designer, Ryan L Foote takes inspiration from the experience of dining, using tableware to play with and conceptualise new food forms. Through R L Foote Design Studio, Ryan sells a range of tableware, working on custom designs with chefs, restaurants and hospitality interior designers. He also teaches ceramics classes in Melbourne and sells chocolates under the name Ryan L Foote Chocolates. The Bento range of ceramics is made from coloured porcelain in a range of colours including black, white, pink, blue, green and more. The design is inspired by the concept of the bento box, forming a range of dishes in various geometric shapes into a matching set, with 10 different designs and either one or two colour variations. These are limited edition and are available from the R L Foote shop, Australian Design Centre shop and other retailers.

In the tableware and homewares category, new shapes and colours are emerging in clay in 2021.