Large-Scale Ceramic Works Break Barriers in the ZEMLYA Exhibition

Ukrainian artist-ceramicist Serhii Makhno is celebrating his inaugural gallery exhibition currently taking place at Les Ateliers Courbet in New York City. ZEMLYA is a series of large-scale ceramic works, both functional and decorative, that were created in Makhno’s Kyiv studio alongside his team of master artisans. In the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the hindrance of the pandemic, they were somehow able to find ways to gather at the studio to keep creating their work.

With ZEMLYA, Makhno has expanded upon the breadth of his work of sculptural lighting and ceramic objets by exploring new scales, forms, and functions. Ongoing conversations with gallery founder Melanie Courbet led to the two developing this series of unique sculptural, functional pieces. Hand-modeled in ceramic and plaster, they mark his first collection of furniture design that uses ceramic.

Evidence of the Japanese Wabi-Sabi aesthetic Makhno favors is evident across all mediums used within the studio. He also pulls from traditional artistic methods, authentic techniques, and natural materials to create objects that live at the intersection of cultural heritage, functional design, and contemporary art.

Since 2003, Makhno’s work has spanned architecture, interior design, sculpture, and objets d’art. In the last 20 years, the studio has become a reflection of the his multidisciplinary vision – housing a ceramic workshop, functional art, and lighting design studio. There, Makhno and his team hand-form each of the ceramic pieces before layering multiple glazes that give the surface a recognizable, highly textured skin.

To learn more about the ZEMLYA exhibition, visit ateliercourbet.com.