An update on my collection of contemporary ceramic sculpture. I last posted about it in 2024 when I had just 8 pieces, it has grown a lot since then 😊 The later pictures include the names of all the artists, and you can find more photos & information on all the pieces & artists on my website: https://paulklinger.com/ceramics
94 comments · 100% upvoted · source · other discussions
This is such an amazing collection. Thank you so much for sharing. We really only have art and decor in our home that we’ve collected from travels, making me also really appreciate the commitment you’ve made in getting those pieces home without damage. And as a ceramicist myself, I love what you said about buying work from ‘unknowns’. It means so much when someone appreciates what you’ve created enough to want to display it in their home. Your collection really is incredible.
Thank you! Definitely agree on the commitment, when I flew back from Japan I was sitting 13hours with the Baba Yasutaka on my lap, flinching at every spot of turbulence 🫣
I love the Rose Schmits piece at the very end, big fan of them. These pieces are unreal, I can't fathom how many of them were created. There is nothing in this collection that doesn't look fascinating. Also, great presentation!
I love these! As a set, they are great for creative inspiration! And the way you are displaying them is really perfect, I appreciate how you grouped them and the perfect lighting.
Just, WOW!
I started on ceramics this year aiming to do some creations of physics sims/math patterns via slipcasting, and this collection is the perfect inspiration, thanks for sharing
Very interested in that! My own background is in physics (I did a PhD in general relativity before switching to software/ML), and I made some gravitational wave sculptures when they were first detected (just 3d printed though) https://thingiverse.com/thing:2886889
Would love to see your results when they're done!
I'd love to see the eventual results of your slipcasting as well Squanch! I really want to get into doing something similar.
I actually have several years of experience as a 3D printing professional, plus a ton of 3D modeling experience. Only thing I'm lacking right now is access to a printer (or any previous experience with slipcasting 😄).
Let me know if either of you wants to collaborate, actually!
Mostly just tumbers and other functional ware right now with guided fluid, cloth, or ripple simulations over their surfaces :). I print in resin for my molds as slipcasting shows absurd detail.
Bringing scientific data into 3d is another thing i play with as well, but mostly in the micro end with microscopy or 3d scans of neurons etc. I use Houdini by SideFX, which is as close as you can get to the metal with 3d. Has its own high-level programming language, VEX, built around 3d functions, so very handy for building custom tooling around scientific data (also quite good python support)
Wow, these are some incredible pieces, and fantastic to see one of Rose Schmits' pieces in the wild! Thank you for supporting and sharing all these artists, and for crediting their works so clearly, so often things get posted online with no info. Stunning works.
What an awesome collection!
I need to make more tentacled things ❤️😂
Amazing collection! when I see such pieces I understand the amount of work and skills to obtain I have ahead. Hope some day I'll be in your collection as well
Rose !!
This...this is basically just my pinterest ceramics scrolling, but you own it. I'm going to look up a bunch of these names later today.
Question: for a piece like the one you have by Erum Aamir, do you know if he's using any kind of glaze, or if it's essentially just unglazed? Not wondering about the color here - obviously that comes from stained clay or underglaze painting (or maybe stains on bisqueware) - but just whether there's any glaze at all for a piece like that during the second firing?
I ask because I've been experimenting with a lot of really detailed (and organic) hand-building details and textures, and any amount of glaze just "blurs" or totally obscures all the sharp details.
The Kirchmair pieces (which are AMAZING) have something similar going on, too, and I'm wondering if those might just be unglazed as well?
She isn't using any glaze (at least on the piece I have). Same for the two Kirchmair pieces, the loop one (Kringel) has something like small stones applied to it (it's a building material used to add grip to surfaces afaik), the cube (Würfel) has a rough surface texture created with a sponge.
In the art world, do pieces like this probably have some kind of sealant applied to them? Not trying to shill for this particular product, but something like this?
That gorgeous!!! Thank you for supporting ceramic artists! I love your collection.
Thank you for sharing! I see some favorite artists and you've introduced me to new ones.
Do you ever dabble in making pottery?
Not yet (outside of once or twice as a kid). But I do want to take a course at some point this year, if only to understand some more on the techniques & appreciate the work more.
I hope you get a chance to try a hand building or wheel class. It's the most amazing therapy and creative outlet. And like you said, it would probably allow you to appreciate the artist's skills even more. I have taken several classes and sadly I don't have a natural talent. But I love it so much that I will always have clay in my life.
STUNNING collection! Thank you for sharing them all. I'm obsessed with Erum Aamir's piece. It's like a virus or bacterium or something as seen through a microscope. Beautiful.
That's a great one! She's inspired by how grains of pollen look under a microscope: https://www.erumaamir.com/about-me
Oh, hah! She did really well, since I picked up on that with no background info on her work. I love it.
Wow what a fun collection! You seem to like things that look like they came from the sea, but there's lots of variety too! Thanks for sharing :)
Wow this is incredible!!
Those are such unique pieces!
Beautiful collection! I need to make cooler shit
stunning!! if you’re looking for more artists, check out @sashacourtstudio and @e_tt_yyy on instagram!
Wow this was very fun to go through!! Thank you for sharing your amazing collection and the artist’s names <3
An extraordinary collection, thanks for sharing!
This is awsome
these are stunning! thank you for sharing
I’m so awestruck by these and I just happened to follow this subreddit for shits back then. This collection is just amazing and the artists that made them are amazingly talented.
I came here to add to the Rose Schmits hype!
Wow you have great taste, so many stunning pieces. I especially like the blue cube thing! Are you also a ceramic artist?
Thanks! 😊
That one is "Würfel" (Cube) by Helene Kirchmair.
I'm definitely not a ceramic artist, I'm a software/ML engineer. Closest thing is that I sometimes do vaguely artistic electronics projects .
Thanks for supporting the arts!
I so covet a Hosono
Stunning collection
Thanks for sharing haven’t heard of a bunch of these amazing artist
Man, art is literally the coolest
Incredible collection! Thanks for sharing.
It’s very reminiscent of a coral reef!
Gorgeous collection. And nice photos of said collection 😊 keep building!
Thank you for collecting. Us ceramic artists need people to care about the work like you do! ☺️
Ah Josefina!!! I haven’t seen her since undergrad!!! Small world, she’s so nice. Lovely collection.
Insane collection! I love it. I like how you've displayed them.
Thank you so much for posting your collection. It is beautiful. Could you tell me more about the Silke Wellmeier piece? What is up with the picture of a forest next to it? Was that the inspiration?
It's from her "Protected Places" series, the shape is the outline of a nature preserve in the Netherlands, the one pictured in the image.
Thank you so much for the extra info. Very interesting.
I love how sometimes (but rarely!) in life you meet someone who has the exact same taste in something - in this case ceramic art. I adore every single piece!
Beautiful collection.
Amazing collection
That's some serious collection, love some of the pieces 🧡
The world needs more collectors like you💗
Wow, thanks for sharing, so much variety here, some seem very reef inspired (something I love very much!)
The Mari Inou looks like a coil pot but instead of a coil it’s fish! Very fun :)
My colleague Shixuan Xu makes stunning work that would fit right in with this collection!
What an amazing collection. Thank you for being so generous and sharing your treasures.
👍👍👍👍👍
I love this but how rich do you have to be to do this? Takes up a lot of space, and art is (rightfully) expensive 😭
I'm earning a pretty good salary (especially for the UK), and live quite frugally otherwise, but it's really not that expensive. E.g. moving from a one bed to a two bed flat or paying for childcare would definitely cost more than I spend on art.
Ceramics are also not crazy expensive, there are a lot fewer people collecting them so far. It would be pretty much impossible to collect paintings from similarly established artists for me (not that I would want to, I love how varied ceramics are as a medium).
Amazing. Planning on getting any matt mitros?
Wasn't on my radar but I'm following him on Instagram now so maybe in the future 🙂
I've always wanted one of his. I love your collection, such absolute beauty you've curated here. I have been collected ceramics the last few years, but mainly mugs and cups. Duane Reade gallery in NYC is a spot I'm often looking at for ceramics.
You should buy one of my sculptures to fill out that one white square in photo 16/16. (Shameless of me, I know, but I have nothing to lose.)
wow, they are so cool!!
If you’re interested, I happen to make some kick ass ceramics myself ;)
The popcorn - wow.
I love these all. Thanks for sharing, very cool to see someone’s collection and taste in art this way.
😊 Here are some of her other popcorns: [1] [2]
Her Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/kaede_ceramic
Omg sweet !!! Thank you so much 😊
This is such a beautiful collection! I love the mix of organic sea-life type of shapes with the futuristic surreal geometry. I think you would really enjoy Vanessa Veck’s work (Vanessa Veck on tiktok and madebyvanessaveck on ig), she plays around with interesting forms
![[1]](https://files.catbox.moe/lrd0pf.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](https://files.catbox.moe/8y29wm.jpg){kind=link}
Those are some amazing pieces, thanks for sharing. What are some of the reasons you chose these pieces?
Almoturg [OP] 131 points · Feb 2026
Mostly just how much of an impression it makes on me, in the moment when I see it. I generally like pieces with complex form, unglazed or simple colours. I love the feeling of trying and failing to hold the whole shape in my mind. But I don't really have any hard rules, I definitely have other kinds of pieces as well.
I also love collecting pieces from artists who're just starting out, it's a great feeling when I'm one of the first people who ever buys something from them (I've had some fun moments at art fairs when they are completely flabbergasted that someone actually wants to buy something 😅).
erisod 24 points · Feb 2026
There are many early ceramic artists here who really struggle with pricing. As a collector could you share any insight into what sort of price range you consider for purchasing work from emerging artists? Or just how you, as a consumer of ceramic work, think about pricing?
Thank you for sharing your collection. Many beautiful pieces!
Almoturg [OP] 58 points · Feb 2026
I set myself a yearly budget I try to stay within, then it's a question of how much I like a piece vs how much more I expect to spend in the year (I've definitely gone over in the past...)
I don't want to share prices of individual pieces (not to anchor artists to the price of their early works), but generally if I like it & it's below a few hundred USD I don't think too much. More than $1,000 and I have to weigh it more carefully. There are so many amazing pieces out there & I don't want to spend my whole budget on a single one.
The least expensive piece in my collection was ~$50, the most expensive a bit over $10,000 (though that was an outlier).
Edit: Personally I don't care if an artist is well known or not when considering price, the second most expensive piece I own was from a pretty much unknown artist.
erisod 6 points · Feb 2026
Thank you!
nephistopheles 6 points · Feb 2026
what a collection. might not be your exact style but check out alex anderson’s sculptures https://www.alexalexalexalex.com/