Olivia COGNET

French artist and designer Olivia Cognet is based with her team in Vallauris, in the south of France, the historic cradle of ceramics where Picasso, Capron, and so many others shaped the modern language of clay.

It is within this exceptional context that she continues to explore ceramics, a fertile medium through which she expresses her boundless creativity. Thanks to the freedom this material affords her to explore all kinds of shapes and sizes, shecreates monumental bas-reliefs and giant totems, as well as chairs, tables, lamps, and vases.

These one-of-a-kind pieces, handcrafted by the artist in her studio, all share the same aesthetic, abstract, and graphic qualities. She draws inspiration from the interplay of light and shadow in the landscapes of the French Riviera, as well as from the years she spent in California, with its modernist architecture and vibrant natural scenery.

Breathing new life into the grand tradition of decorative arts, her works are both functional and powerfully evocative. For her, ceramics are a key element of architecture. She begins by exploring her ideas on paper before moving on to stoneware, using a local clay that comes in three natural shades. Her creations highlight the power of contrasts; her minimalist, geometric lines intertwine with a sensual, organic vocabulary. The austere aesthetic of raw clay is enhanced by the elegance of the crackle glaze.

Text by Olivia Cognet