Ceramics Now Magazine - January 2026

The January 2026 issue of Ceramics Now Magazine features the work of Xanthe Somers on the cover. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Somers creates vibrant, hand-built sculptures that fuse ornamentation and political critique. Engaging with Zimbabwean craft traditions, her work questions overconsumption, environmental injustice, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.

This issue brings together essays, reviews, and special features that explore how ceramics engages memory, identity, critique, and material experimentation across time and geography. Alessandra Lami reflects on the poetic sculptural language of Gordon Baldwin in a major exhibition at Officine Saffi, Milan. Laura Curcio examines the role of material intelligence in Australian contemporary craft through the lens of Sydney Craft Week. Lori-Ann Touchette writes on Johan Creten's exhibition Tremore Essenziale at Alfonso Artiaco in Naples, and Beth Williamson reviews Lindsey Mendick's recent show Growing Pains: You Couldn't Pay Me to Go Back. Unu Sohn rounds up ceramic highlights from London's Frieze Week, and a special feature introduces the ten laureates of the 2026 ceramic brussels Art Prize.

This issue also presents the work of five featured artists: Laura Dirksen, Xanthe Somers, Javaria Ahmad, Jason Lee Starin, and Katie Strachan.

Featured exhibitions include Martin Woll Godal at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal; Jim Melchert at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, San Francisco; Samuel Sarmiento at Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York; Anne Marie Laureys and Costanza Gastaldi at Taste Contemporary, Geneva; Irene Nordli at HB381 Gallery, New York, and more.