Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art

This exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London (26 October–8 January 2023) brings together 23 contemporary artists who are rethinking traditional ceramic practices. With a focus on the eccentric, the display highlights ceramicists who use their medium to explore themes such as social justice and the body, or to escape reality altogether. Highlights include a range of characterful works by the Czech sculptor Klara Kristalova; drawing on folklore and mythology, her installation Camouflage (2017) features large-scale hybrid animal figures within a lush forest setting. Elsewhere, a monumental ceramic squid by David Zink Yi sprawls across the gallery floor; there are also fantastical works by Aaron Angell, reminiscent of hobbyist dioramas, and Grayson Perry’s familiar skewerings of British society in the form of his collage-like vases. Find out more on the Southbank Centre’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Pie #1 (2020), Aaron Angell. Photo: Andy Keate; courtesy of Rob Tufnell, London/Venice; © Aaron Angell

Women of Ideas (1990), Grayson Perry. Photo: courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Grayson Perry

Kakteenkranz (2008), Beate Kuhn. Photo: Die Neue Sammlung (A. Laurenzo); courtesy Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum

Won’t Tell (2018), Woody De Othello. Photo: John Wilson White; courtesy the artist, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco and Klarna, New York; © Woody De Othello.