Lola Montes Schnabel Finds Beauty in Artichokes for Her Enchanting Ceramics

The artist, whose pieces are on view at Milan’s Nilufar Gallery, is exploring the medium following years dedicated to painting and filmmaking

Colorful sculptural candleholders with tall, textured candles on a round pink table against a purple wall.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Filippo Pincolini

“Clay is the most primal form of making art,” reflects Lola Montes Schnabel, who is exploring the medium following years dedicated to painting and filmmaking. After learning traditional techniques from master craftsmen in Sicily, the artist found inspiration for her bewitching candleholders in an unlikely source: artichokes. “The vegetable reflects a dichotomy, since it is made of a sweet core but with a sharp outer shield,” she explains. “It narrates an ambivalent love theme.” That beautiful contradiction comes to life at Milan’s Nilufar Gallery, which regularly showcases her works at its booths on the design-fair circuit, most recently at Nomad St. Moritz and FOG Design + Art 2023. 

See her work below. 

Vibrant sculptural candles on a pink table next to a dark blue velvet chair in a warmly lit room.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Filippo Pincolini
Four colorful, intricately designed candle holders with lit candles, displayed on a reflective pink surface in dim lighting.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Filippo Pincolini
Unique ceramic sculpture of a tall, slender plant with a blue flower on top, displayed in a round, shallow, brown dish.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Nilufar Gallery
Ceramic art piece resembling a red flower with glossy finish on a teal stem, set against a plain white background.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Nilufar Gallery
Three colorful sculpted candleholders with tall pink, coral, and blue candles on a modern geometric table.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Filippo Pincolini
Ceramic blue bowl with a tall, textured green sculpture in the center against a plain background.
Ceramic candleholders by Lola Montes Schnabel. Photo: Nilufar Gallery

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2023 Spring Issue under the headline “From the Heart.” Subscribe to the magazine.