Jingdezhen, China

Gaze Atelier

Portraits, personal stories and the sustained act of looking, expressed in carved ceramic surfaces.

THE STUDIO

Gaze Atelier, known in Chinese as 注视手作, was founded in 2024 by two graduates of Jingdezhen Ceramic University. The studio takes its name from the act of looking closely: a pause in which an object, a face or a story holds our attention.

The two makers work across hand forming, carving and painted decoration. Their figurative ceramic pieces often draw on portraits and animals, using sharp lines and strong contrasts to give a ceramic surface a narrative presence. Personal memory is an important part of the practice, with the studio also exploring portrait commissions from photographs. Across its work, ceramic craft becomes a way to hold an image and invite a longer encounter with it.

THE PRACTICE

The studio combines hand-formed ceramics with carving and hand painting. Lines cut into darker surfaces create contrasts of light and shade, while the marks of the tools and brush remain visible. Individual works vary in glaze and finish, including reflective surfaces on selected pieces.

CARE

Hand wash gently. Avoid steel wool, stiff brushes and vigorous rubbing of painted or carved surfaces. Handle and display the pieces carefully to prevent knocks, falls and damage to fine surface details.

SELECTED WORKS