When Design Miami 2025, a global design fair, opens its doors on December 2 in South Florida, it will celebrate its 20th anniversary with one of Britain’s most imaginative and hardworking ceramic artists: Kate Malone.
The world-renowned potter — known for her exuberant vases, pots and sculptural forms that have been displayed in galleries and museums across the US, Europe and Asia — describes herself as “addicted to clay.” Quoting British sculptor Nicola Hicks, Malone often repeats a mantra that fuels her creativity: “Work makes work.” To her, inspiration doesn’t precede effort — it follows it.
Her handcrafted pieces draw inspiration from the natural world, often adorned with seeds, fruits, and organic shapes that ripple with energy and sell for a premium: A small vase can go for thousands of dollars.
Malone’s signature pumpkins, pineapples and gourds celebrate fecundity or growth and fertility, and the joy of life itself.
“Optimism is my big thing,” she said in a video call from her studio in Kent, southeast of London. “A big ebullient pumpkin or a pineapple with its leaves like a crown, stretching out” — they give a feel-good response. They’re symbols of hospitality and joy,” she added.
(Article excerpted from CNN)
