In recent years, the market for contemporary ceramics has heated up, and the infrastructure around it has followed suit. A wave of dedicated fairs—from Ceramic Brussels and cerArtmic Madrid, which launched in 2024, to Ceramic Art Fair Paris in 2025 and this month’s inaugural NADA Ceramics in New York—show that clay is no longer operating at the margins of the contemporary art world.
The medium itself is ancient. From Paleolithic models to the pottery of the Arts and Crafts movement, the ancient “fire art” of clay is one of the most enduring forms of human expression. Still, in the contemporary art world, ceramics have long occupied an uneasy space between craft, design, and fine art. The medium has often been dismissed as “functional” or “decorative” and rarely afforded the same commercial platforms as painting or sculpture. That imbalance is now being corrected.
Studios and galleries right up to blue-chip names, including Perrotin—which represents artists including Johan Creten, Otani Workshop and Klara Kristalova—and Gagosian, home to Edmund de Waal and Setsuko, have steadily expanded their ceramics rosters. Collector demand has been rising, too.
L’Hippocampe – Library version, 2024
Johan Creten
Perrotin
Le serpent et la vigne, 2024
Setsuko
Gagosian
Work by leading 20th-century ceramists such as Dame Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, and Bernard Leach, as well as a second generation of living studio potters including Jennifer Lee and Elizabeth Fritsch, has consistently smashed estimates at major auction houses. Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Bonhams have all helped amplify the secondary market for these artists, with the latter selling Rie’s Footed Bowl (ca. 1952) in 2023 for a record €406,800 ($472,468), nearly 10 times its low estimate.
Until recently, however, the medium was lacking a dedicated structure capable of consolidating this momentum, which is where the idea for the first fair came in.
“We decided to develop an international event in the unique form of an art fair committed to promoting and defending ceramics,” Gilles Parmentier, co-director of Ceramic Brussels, told Artsy. Indeed, while the medium’s expressive range has expanded dramatically, its institutional recognition has lagged.
Today’s ceramics-based fairs aim to remove these hierarchies. Works on view span traditional techniques and 3D printing to murals and mixed-media installations. Gallerists report that sculptural, abstract, and narrative-driven ceramics are increasingly commanding attention and demand among collectors.
Rome dealer Anna Marra, who participated in Ceramic Brussels in January, observed a “deep hunger for newness” and for works that challenge the limits of clay. “Andrés Anza’s organic textures and Dana Zvulun’s delicate research on surfaces both received immense interest,” she said. “It confirmed that when technical mastery meets a strong poetic vision, the response from the international market is immediate.”
Lise Coirier, director of Brussels-based Spazio Nobile, singled out the Portuguese artist Bela Silva as another innovator who is “dripping on the stoneware like Jackson Pollock so that the clay becomes something of a canvas”.
Such experimentation, noted Parisian dealer Antonine Catzéflis, is increasingly attracting seasoned contemporary art collectors who are purchasing ceramics alongside painting and sculpture—a shift reflected in rising prices across the market.
De la serie “Memorias” II, 2025
Andrés Anza Cortés
Galleria Anna Marra
La vie en vacances #8, 2025
Bela Silva
Spazio Nobile
Such experimentation, noted Parisian dealer Antonine Catzéflis, is increasingly attracting seasoned contemporary art collectors who are purchasing ceramics alongside painting and sculpture—a shift reflected in rising prices across the market.
“Works by emerging and mid-career artists that were once considered ‘entry-level’ are now seeing significant appreciation,” said Marra. “Collectors are realizing that the complexity of firing and glazing processes justifies higher price points, comparable to other sculptural media.”
At Ceramic Brussels, prices begin at around €5,000 ($5,807), but several works sell for up to €200,000 ($232,285) each year. This broad range has made the medium accessible for younger collectors, who have become a major driving force in the market.
“This generation often finds ceramics more approachable and ‘human,’ yet intellectually stimulating,” noted Marra, who believes a “tactile revolution” has fueled broader interest in the medium: “In an increasingly digital world, both artists and collectors are drawn back to the physical, primordial nature of clay.”
Chandeliers Prairie, 2025
Clémentine de Chabaneix
Antonine Catzéflis
Pien Rademakers, founder of Amsterdam’s Rademakers Gallery, sees this shift as part of a wider recalibration within the art world. “Ceramic art speaks directly to this moment,” she said. “We see a strong return to craftsmanship—to works made by hand, with patience, attention to detail, and a deep respect for tradition. Especially, younger collectors are drawn to that authenticity. They follow trends, yes, but ceramics is more than a trend; it reflects a broader desire for tactility and meaning.”
That engagement, she added, is tangible. “At art fairs and in the gallery, we experience this growing interest firsthand. It’s not just statistics—it’s real engagement.” Part of ceramics’ strength lies in its material accessibility. “As a material, it doesn’t carry the same barrier of luxury as bronze or glass. It feels approachable, yet it holds enormous artistic depth. That combination—intimacy, material intelligence, and conceptual strength—is why ceramic art is so important today.”
The medium’s appeal extends beyond the traditional art market. Victoria Denis, co-founder of Ceramic Art Fair Paris, observed that visitors to Design Miami.Paris, held concurrently in October, frequently cross the Boulevard Saint-Germain to attend both events. “This cross-disciplinary appeal is likely to sustain the market’s growth and increase visibility for artists working in ceramics,” Coirier said.
Dit is mijn Lijf, 2023
Chris Rijk
Rademakers Gallery
Disneyland Zaandam, 2022
Chris Rijk
Rademakers Gallery
Attendance figures reflect this growing confidence. Ceramic Brussels has grown from 17,840 visitors in 2025 to 19,232 this year, bringing together almost 200 artists and a selection of 65 international galleries from 15 countries.
Nor is the trend confined to Europe. “The enthusiasm is increasingly global, with buyers from North America, Asia, and the Middle East actively participating,” Coirier noted.
Keen to capitalize on this momentum, fairs are investing in talks programs that situate ceramics within broader art market dialogues, as well as investment in emerging talent.
“There’s real momentum,” said Catzéflis. “People are increasingly recognizing that ceramics has a full place in contemporary art—it’s no longer seen merely as decorative. The field is expanding quickly, both artistically and in terms of visibility.”
Marra expects further integration of ceramics into “generalist” museum programs and more large-scale installations. But she believes the role of fairs as a space to bring galleries and collectors together is still crucial. “Behind every ceramic work, there is a risky and fascinating process involving fire and earth,” she said. “Sharing this story is what truly connects the collector to the piece.”
