Clay Craft Concept

Contemporary Ceramics, ancient histories.

A Collective Ceramics Exhibition
Malta Society of Arts,
22 August - 26 September 2024
Curated by Gabriel Zammit

‘‘The Malta Society of Arts has a long been a stronghold for supporting crafts and has a history of clay education. CLAY / CRAFT / CONCEPT flows from this legacy while also bringing the Society’s activity into dialogue with contemporary currents of thought.

At its most basic, CLAY / CRAFT / CONCEPT asks the question: ‘What is the difference between a sculpture and a beautifully crafted but functional object, such as a mug or a vase?’ In other words, this exhibition aims to conceptualise the blurred line between craft practice and fine-art thinking, investigating different ways of creating with clay, from prehistory to contemporary practice, and creates a dialogue between sculptural and functional clay objects by bringing together a large and eclectic group of artists.’’

Grandmasters Hall, Malta Society Of Arts, Babau Ceramics, Thiss Clay, Rebecca Bonacci, V for Vernacular, Alison Vella, Nico Conti, Lea Kaplan, Burghild Eichheim, Martina Farrugia, Tizianna Schemri, Eleanor Meredith, Toni Briffa, Francesca Balzan
Ceramic Monster Vessel, Anger, 2025, by Ioulia Chante, stoneware with oxides

Participating artists
Victor Agius, Julie Apap, Shirley Agius Xuereb, Francesca Balzan, Trevor Borg, Skuja Braden, Tony Briffa, Gabriel Caruana, Ioulia Chante, Nico Conti, Andrew Diacono, Victor Diacono, Burghild Eichheim, Martina Farrugia, Sina Farrugia, Alberto Favaro, Nina Gerada, Caz Hildebrand, Leah Kaplan, Helen Martin Lowinger, Rosa Madonna, Nadya Anne Mangion, Clare McCracken, Eleanor Meredith, Salvina Muscat, Kira Ni, Paul Scerri, Anna Snowdon, Hae Won Sohn x Stipan Tadić, THISS, THISS x Rebecca Bonaci, THISS x VERNACULAR, Tiziana Schembri, Jeremy Tua, Ally Vella, Maryia Virshych

Curation Gabriel Zammit, Catalogue essays Vince Briffa, Clive Zammit; Exhibition design Tom van Malderen; Production Malta Society of Arts; Production assistant Luke Dimech; Graphic design Stelios Ypsilantis; Lenders MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum, Heritage Malta, National Museum of Archaeology, Heritage Malta, Valletta Contemporary Shop, Marie Gallery 5, Mary Rose Caruana and the Gabriel Caruana Foundation, Catherine and Patrick Calleja, those who wish to remain anonymous; Special thanks Serena Alessi, Antonella Axisa, Norbert Francis Attard, Pierre Bonello, Lara Bugeja Strickland, Anna Calleja, Antonia Critien, Maria Eileen Fsadni, Franceen Galea, Galea Hardware Store Siġġiewi, Maria Galea, Michael Lowell, Adrian Mamo, Katya Micallef, Jeanine Rizzo, Malta Society of Arts Staff, Sharon Sultana, Dennis Vella, Michaele Zammit, Raffaella Zammit, Stelios Ypsilantis

Clay Craft Concept is a Malta Society of Arts Initiative

Supported by The Italian Cultural Institute, Il-Lokal, CBK Rotterdam

Clay Craft Concept, ''Why Me?'' Ceramic Vessel with oxides, Ioulia Chante, Babau Ceramics
Grandmasters Hall, Malta Society Of Arts, Babau Ceramics, Thiss Clay, Rebecca Bonacci, V for Vernacular, Alison Vella, Nico Conti, Lea Kaplan, Burghild Eichheim, Martina Farrugia, Tizianna Schemri, Eleanor Meredith, Toni Briffa,  Francesca Balzan
Study 1, Clay Craft Concept, Ioulia Chante, Babau Ceramics
Clay Craft Concept, Malta Society Of Arts, Trevor Borg, Ceramic, composite elements and found objects
Clay Craft Concept, MSA Galleries, Anna Snowdon, Alberto Favaro, Jay Tua, Francesca Balzan, Kira Ni, Tiziana Schembri, Gabriel Caruana, Skuja Braden, Hae Won Sohn, Stipan Tadic
MSA Galleries_ ClayCraftConcept_Nadya Anne Mangion, Maryia Virshych, Nina Gerada, Claire McCracken, Victor Agius, Salvina Muscat
MSA_ClayCraftConcept_Paul Scerri, Shirley Agius Xuereb, Andrew Diacono, Rosa Madonna, Helen Martin Lowinger,  Julie Apap,
Clay Craft Concept , Exhibition at Malta Society Of Arts, Exhibition Setup Detail

Photos across this page by Marc Scicluna, Benjamin Zammit, Lisa Attard