Ceramic Brussels.
Photo: Geoffrey Fritsch
What to Discover at Ceramic Brussels 2025
On view from January 23 to January 26 at the Tour & Taxis exhibition center, this one-of-a-kind fair is dedicated to the art of ceramics
It was bound to happen sooner or later. An art fair dedicated to ceramics is the logical conclusion of the ever upward spiral the medium has experienced over the past decade. It chimes with the popularity of potters such as London-based Florian Gadsby, who, with his beautifully simple mugs, bowls and vases, has nearly one million followers on Instagram and has exhibited his work at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. At the same time, major institutional and gallery shows have homed in on artists working in ceramics—and auction prices have boomed. While all things clay were once bracketed as “craft” and “decorative arts,” today they sit firmly in the realm of fine art.
“It is indeed a groundswell that affects all continents today and the timing was right to put the medium back in the spotlight on the international scene,” says Gilles Parmentier, director of the Ceramic Brussels fair that was first held last year. This weekend, the event returns to the Belgian capital and the second edition, which runs January 22-26, will be, says Parmentier, “more international, larger, more lively.” Almost 70 galleries from 15 countries are showing work by over 200 artists.
At the entrance, “visitors will discover an immersive installation by American artist Elizabeth Jaeger,” adds Parmentier. Inside, meanwhile, one section of the fair will focus on 20th-century ceramics—including French gallery Hélène Bailly’s presentation of rare pieces by Pablo Picasso—but the majority of the space is given over to contemporary creation.
Here are some of the highlights:
Portes du Paradis by Vincent Dubourg. Photo: Paul Hennebelle
Modular Ceramic Bench by Rino Claessens. Photo: Pierre Castignola
1. Galerie Scene Ouverte
The Paris gallery that brings together design and decorative arts will display work by five of its artists in Brussels. They range from table-top pieces—including one of French ceramicist Saraï Delfendahl’s intricate and quixotic creatures—to those on a monumental scale. Standing four meters tall, Portes du Paradis is a bold and Brutalist-inspired sculptural door by French artist Vincent Dubourg. The snaking, sleek and sinuous Modular Ceramic Bench by Eindhoven-based designer Rino Claessens further pushes our perception of the medium.
Vinna på lotto, skita i allt, fara til Spanien by Nellie Jonsson. Photo: Courtesy of Norway Focus
2. Norway Focus
The country’s ceramic art scene is being highlighted with a special program of talks on January 24 in collaboration with non-profit organization Norwegian Crafts and five galleries, including Oslo-based spaces Format and QB Gallery, and Bergen’s Kiosken. While Format focuses on the sculptural potential of clay, showcasing the dramatic, organic forms of Torbjørn Kvasbø alongside Eyvind Solli Andreassen’s delicately layered pieces, QB Gallery delves into the playful and pastel-hued world of young Swedish-born, Oslo-based artist Nellie Jonsson. Her painterly takes on elaborate cakes, plates of food and the odd ashtray are weirdly wonderful.
Deja Vu XI, by Judit Vida. Photo: Courtesy of ACB Galéria.
Untitled, (1970) by Lajos Cserto Cim Nelkul. Photo: Courtesy of ACB Galéria.
3. ACB Galéria
Established in Budapest in 2003, ACB Galéria shines a spotlight on “neo-avant-garde artists who were significant in Hungarian art history.”At Ceramic Brussels, it will put mechanical engineer-turned ceramicist Lajos Csertő and his space-age-inspired sculptures on the map, as well as Judit Vida, who uses porcelain to punk effect in idiosyncratically patterned and metal-adorned structures.
Work by Agnès Debizet. Photo: Alice Mesguich
4. Galerie Gastou
The Paris gallery that represents both 20th-century design masters and contemporary artists is dedicating its booth to Marseille-born Agnès Debizet. Since first falling in love with ceramics at a Paris night class in 1980, Debizet has become known for her looping “Entrelacs” and bubble-like “Morilles” series spanning chairs and lamps, often resembling fantastical creatures. In Brussels, her new body of sculptural work is titled L’Espèce Rouge. “These strange beasts are neither majestic nor sacred,” she explains. “They’re innocent, in-between creatures, neither completely real nor completely dreamt.”
Work by Nobuhito Nishigawara. Photo: Courtesy of Almine Rech
5. Almine Rech
The gallery that has spaces from London to Shanghai, and represents artists from George Condo to Claire Tabouret, flies the flag for ceramics as cutting-edge contemporary art. Its selection, states the gallery, “comprises a diverse range of socio-cultural backgrounds, embodying their shared ability to challenge conventional artistic dialogues through the use of ceramics.” It includes one of Brussels-based sculptor Eric Croes’s totemic sculptures, which stack colorful and cartoonish elements—from contorted faces to anthropomorphic jugs—one on top of the other.
Ceramic wall rug by Marianne Huotari. Photo: Anne Autio
6. Hostler Burrows and HB381 Gallery
These two New York galleries both champion Nordic design. Their joint booth features work by Finnish artists Sakari Kannosto, whose work is often both figurative and folkloric, and Caroline Slotte, known for working with antique plates. A standout is one of Helsinki-based Marianne Huotari’s mesmerizing “ceramic wall rugs,” which are inspired by the traditional loom-woven Finnish textile technique ryijy, but consist of hundreds of tiny ceramic elements.
The Lookout. Photo: Courtesy of Mennour
A Crackle. Photo: Courtesy of Mennour
7. Guest of Honor Elizabeth Jaeger
The New York-based artist brings a poetic and whimsical approach to sculpture. Her work is both figurative and symbolic, familiar yet surreal. Her installation for Ceramic Brussels is presented in association with Paris’s Mennour gallery, which also shows a series of plates by artist Matthew Lutz Kinoy.
Cover: Ceramic Brussels.
Photo: Geoffrey Fritsch
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