This auction marks a significant milestone in the institutional and market recognition of ceramics, a medium that has enjoyed a renewed wave of interest among collectors and enthusiasts in recent years. Through a carefully curated selection, Earth & Fire: Ceramics will highlight the breadth and vitality of contemporary ceramic practice, spanning formal experimentation, artisanal heritage and sculptural expression.

Bringing together emerging artists and established figures, the sale will present an unprecedented dialogue between generations and artistic sensibilities. Works by Carolein Smit, Kim Simonsson, Elmar Trenkwalder and Betty Woodman will be presented alongside creations by Jacques Blin, Georges Jouve and Pol Chambost, illustrating the diversity of artistic languages and aesthetics shaping the field today. The auction will also showcase classical ceramics, Japanese ceramics and craft through a selection of unique works.

The sale has been curated by Jean-Marc Dimanche, co-founder of Ceramic Brussels alongside Gilles Parmentier.

A dialogue between Classical, Japanese and Craft ceramics

For thousands of years, ceramics have embodied earth and fire, craftsmanship and passion. Originating in the Near East, the ceramic arts reached an exceptional level of artistic achievement in Ancient Greece, where they became one of the most significant expressions of Greek life and culture. Over the centuries, the medium continued to evolve, culminating in the establishment of renowned French porcelain manufactories such as Sèvres in the eighteenth century and the flourishing of ceramic workshops across southern France. This is a craft passed down from generation to generation, rooted in traditional techniques that demand exceptional skill, precision and patience. 

Jacques Blin (1920-1995) was one of the leading French ceramicists of the 1950s and a passionate advocate for his profession and the applied arts. He developed a highly distinctive style, characterised by freehand incised decoration and the use of metallic oxides beneath the glaze, creating softly clouded or stone-like backgrounds. On October 23rd, Artcurial will present one of his blue glazed vases, estimated at €3,000 - 4,000. 

Another iconic twentieth-century ceramicist who helped elevate ceramics to the status of fine art will also be represented in the sale: Georges Jouve (1910-1964). The bottle vase on offer perfectly illustrates his sculptural approach to the medium, combining free-flowing, pared-back forms (est. €5,000 - 7,000).

Japanese ceramics, meanwhile, occupy a singular place in the history of the medium. In Japan, ceramics have long been regarded as an art form, with celebrated traditions such as Bizen and Raku. Bizen ware is distinguished by its reddish-brown colour and its unglazed surface, whose distinctive appearance results solely from the firing process. Raku ware, by contrast, is produced using a glazing technique traditionally associated with tea bowls for the Japanese tea ceremony. These vessels are designed to withstand extreme variations in temperature.

Here, imperfection is embraced as a virtue, as exemplified by Natural Ash Glaze Pot, a stoneware vessel by Shōzō Michikawa, estimated at €500 - 800. Born in Hokkaido, Japan, in 1953, Michikawa is a ceramic artist whose works, many of them created for chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony, are distinguished by their swirling forms and dynamic spiral patterns, shaped on the potter's wheel. His work has earned international recognition, and in 2005 he became the first foreign ceramic artist to present a solo exhibition within Beijing's Forbidden City.

The auction will also feature a glazed ceramic vase by Kazuo Takiguchi, estimated at €3,500 - 4,500. Born in Kyoto, Takiguchi is an internationally acclaimed artist who broke away from the functional ceramic tradition to devote himself to the creation of abstract biomorphic sculptures. His work is distinguished by a unique modelling technique in which exceptionally thin sheets of clay are folded or draped over moulds to create organic forms charged with tension. Today, works by both Takiguchi and Shōzō Michikawa are held in the collections of major museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Today, a new generation of artists is appropriating these techniques and reinventing them through Craft, the art of making with one’s hands, of imbuing matter with soul. While remaining rooted in ancestral processes that established ceramics’ reputation, craft highlights imperfection, gesture and emotion. This approach is exemplified by Summer Vase by Betty Woodman (1930-2018), estimated at €10,000 - 15,000. Woodman established herself as a major figure in post-war American art by transforming traditional ceramics into a contemporary sculptural and multimedia practice. Her work offers a unique synthesis of painting, architecture and domesticity, drawing inspiration from Roman frescoes and Renaissance art as well as modernist masters such as Matisse and Bonnard. Her practice reached a historic milestone in 2006, when she became the first living female artist to be the subject of a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Another highlight is Two Headed Lamb by Dutch ceramicist Carolein Smit (est. €12,000 - 15,000). Smit has gained international recognition for her sculptural works often inspired by memento mori, vanitas traditions, mythology and Baroque symbolism. Her practice features animals, skeletons, hybrid figures and fantastical creatures.