Isabella Smith is senior editor of Apollo.

Aizuhongo ware covered container (20th century), Japan. Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo

The East Asian and Nordic artists who found common ground

The West’s borrowings from Japanese modernism are well known – but an exhibition in Helsinki shows that the traffic moved both ways

25 Sep 2019
Sculpture of a large anthropomorphic crab by the Martin Brothers, 1880, salt-glazed stoneware.

Who’s going to shell out for this monumental crab?

‘Truly grotesque’ it may be, but the export bar placed on this characterful Victorian ceramic reflects its importance as a work of art

27 Jun 2019
Left: Vase (1884), decorated by Laura A. Fry, Rookwood Pottery. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Right: Vase (c. 1885–89), Hugh C. Robertson, Chelsea Keramic Art Works. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The art and craft of American pottery

American art ceramics haven’t received as much attention as they deserve, but a major gift to the Met is changing this

11 Feb 2019
Installation view of ‘A Master’s Hand’ exhibition at Driscoll Babcock Galleries, New York, 2017.

Warren MacKenzie’s commitment to craft

The renowned American potter believed simplicity, beauty, and affordability were of paramount importance

14 Jan 2019
Installation view of ‘Wetwang Slack’, Barbican Centre, London, 2018.

The colourful craft of Francis Upritchard

An inventive installation fills the Barbican’s Curve with a parade of handmade pots and hippyish characters

8 Oct 2018
A selection of glazed ceramic buttons (1944–45), Lucie Rie.

The great modern potter who made an art form of buttons

A comprehensive look at the career of Lucie Rie places the spotlight on her handcrafted buttons

6 Jul 2018