From the masters of modern studio pottery such as Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, and Bernard Leach to the wildly abstract and experimental work of contemporary ceramists, the medium is having a moment among collectors of all levels.
Collector interest in ceramics has been on the rise in recent years. A significant signpost came with a Phillips and Maak Contemporary Ceramics auction from the collection of Dr. John Driscoll in November 2021. Its pre-sale mid-estimate of £2 million was exceeded by 228% and set 28 world auction records for works by the likes of Micheal Cardew, Hans Coper, and the celebrated Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali. The sale marked one of the most significant collections of contemporary ceramics to come to auction, and underscores much of the momentum for the medium today, seen most recently in a new auction record for Austrian artist Lucie Rie last November.
On the primary market, this has similarly been observed, with galleries and fairs also noticing an uptick in interest.
Early Scraffito Vase with Roman Bathtub Leaf Design,
Lucie Rie
Jeffrey Spahn Gallery
Stem Cup, ca. 1980
Michael Cardew
Joanna Bird Contemporary Collections
Now in its 20th year, Collect Fair is the leading international fair for contemporary craft and design presented by Crafts Council. Taking place from March 1st through 3rd at Somerset House in London, it presents the work of international living artists, all made within the last five years.
Isobel Dennis, the fair’s director, told Artsy that contemporary ceramics are particularly appealing to younger collectors. “Ceramics are so familiar to us all. It is not an intimidating medium,” she said. “When you’re investing in a work for the first time, it’s important to go for something that you feel comfortable with, and ceramics offer this.
“The functionality of ceramics frames it as a humble medium, but there is an extraordinary breadth of outcomes from how an artist might approach it,” she said, “from elegant porcelain to more abstract pieces, which encompass different firings and glazes in all their complexity.”
In recent years Collect has noticed changes in the market, including mid-career artists increasingly entering the secondary market. Dennis noted the British potter Matthew Chambers as an example: “He has a phenomenal method of making, without traditional glazes,” she explained. “There is secondary-market value there. Chambers has been in many British sales now alongside mid-century British studio potters.”
Dennis also pointed to the expansion of the global ceramics market in recent years, as interest has grown in viewing a wider range of practices from around the world. “We have some amazing First Nations work from Canada this year, including from Darren Emeneau and Nancy Oakley,” the organizers explained. “This is new for us at the fair, and the London audience at the fair is excited to see how Indigenous cultures have influenced contemporary ceramics.”
Self-identity and storytelling are key themes of the works at Collect Fair this year, with highlights including the work of Matt Smith, represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery; and Simon Dredge, represented by Alveston Fine Arts. Both artists experiment with clay techniques and with their queer identities.
Meanwhile in Europe, the emergence of dedicated fairs such as Ceramic Brussels—which hosted its debut edition in January—indicates the buoyancy of interest across the continent. “The organizers of Ceramic Brussels already host a fair dedicated to paper: Art on Paper. Ceramic Brussels takes this a step further to explore this medium which is very hot on the art market right now,” said Lise Coirier, director of Spazio Nobile, a contemporary applied arts, design, and photography gallery in Brussels.
Raku Black #7, 2022
Kiki van Eijk
Spazio Nobile
Raku White Black Blue #1, 2022
Kiki van Eijk
Spazio Nobile
Spazio Nobile represents an international selection of mid-career artists dedicated to the use of ceramics as an artistic and experimental medium. Coirier highlights the long history of ceramics that gives the medium so much weight and appeal. “People have always needed ceramics for so many functional uses, and I think it’s this lineage that makes the ceramics market so fruitful,” she said.
The immediacy of the medium is also appealing to newer collectors, explained Emily Moore from 8 Holland Street. “We might view the ceramics market in two branches: the studio pottery market, where depth of knowledge of the artist’s history is key; and the newer pottery craft market, where whimsical and narrative-based pieces are appealing in their tactility and childlike naivety,” she said. For instance, Claudia Rankin is one such contemporary ceramist who has seen success with the gallery over the past few years, and had a sold-out show with the gallery, alongside the painter Isaac Benigson, in May 2023.
8 Holland Street has galleries in London and Bath, and is heavily influenced by the British modernist collector Jim Ede’s home-turned-gallery, Kettle’s Yard, in Cambridge, England. The gallery is interested in dissolving object hierarchies in the gallery space, where ceramics play an important role. “We’ve noticed an increase in recent years in the interior design market, with press requests for pots to be used to photograph domestic interior spaces,” said Moore. “Contemporary ceramics straddle form and function in the home. Some of Rankin’s pieces, for example, are candlestick holders, but these are also sculptural objects,” she added.
Toeing the line between functionality and conceptualism, contemporary ceramics are an accessible way into the art market for newer collectors, and their appeal continues to resonate with established buyers. The diversity, versatility, and experimental capacity of the medium appeal to a variety of tastes and preferences.
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