Ceramic Art London Fair Returns to Olympia

The acclaimed Ceramic Art London fair, now in its 22nd year, returns to Olympia West Hall from Friday 8th – Sunday 10th May 2026, (with a private view by invitation only, on Thursday 7th May). Hugely respected in the contemporary ceramics world, and always oversubscribed, it is Europe’s leading showcase for makers to sell their work.

This year’s fair saw over 300 applications from 27 countries with 125 makers chosen through a rigorous selection process to exhibit. 25% are new for 2026 and include: Jane Sheppard, Nel Faulkner, Elaine Sheppard-Bolt, Fernando Martinez, Uriel Caspi, Lisa Biris, Sophie Manessiez, Johanne Coker and Catalin Filip. Over 5000 visitors attend the event from over 30 countries. There is a talks programme running on every day of the fair.

The fair is curated by the Craft Potters Association and has an extraordinary range of work on sale, priced from £30 to over £10,000 for collectors’ pieces. Exhibitors come from as far afield as Japan, Korea, Canada and the USA as well as across Europe.

Fair Director, Simon Harrison said of the event: “Ceramic Art London is an inspirational show for everyone from enthusiasts to high level collectors and museum curators. It has a truly international feel and the diversity of the pieces for sale is as broad as the countries which inspire them.”

Tactile

Thomas Bohle is well known internationally. A multi award-winning sculptor, he has exhibited all over Europe as well as in Tokyo, Korea, New Zealand and UAE. His work is in public and private collections across Europe. He says of his very tactile work, “By being touched and used in daily life, they can explain themselves much better than any statement from me.” He is bringing, ‘Double-walled vessel’, purple glaze, measuring 20.5 cm x height 20.5 cm.

Alexandra Breeze’s work is rooted in architecture, especially from the Netherlands where she has lived for the last 27 years. Her ceramics transform buildings into stories. She creates porcelain tiles inspired by Dutch canal houses and international architecture, using imprinted textures and cobalt washes to echo both the fragility and resilience of homes. Her work includes houses across Europe including: ‘Neville Terrace, London’ Size: 26cm x 26cm, porcelain imprinted with relief detail mounted on a painted wooden board).

Ashraf Hanna is an Egyptian-born, award-winning British artist working from Pembrokeshire, West Wales. He makes hand-built vessels, focusing on minimal and dynamic design. His inspiration comes from his Egyptian heritage, the natural landscapes of both Egypt and Wales, and the relationship between form and space in modernist design. He has had solo exhibitions across the UK as well as in France and Switzerland. His many awards won include the Public Award for best in show at the International Ceramics Fair in Oldenburg Germany and First Prize at the British Glass Biennale (Best in Show). In his recent work, on sale at the fair, Ashraf brings a’ Group of Deconstructed Vessels’ which are hand-built earthenware with the tallest standing at 25 cm.

Sara Moorhouse has recently developed a new colourway from drawings made of the Yorkshire Landscape in the summers of 2024 and 2025. She brings, ‘2 Yorkshire Landscape Forms’, measuring 7cms high and 12cms wide, Stoneware clay and unglaze. Her work explores the visual and spatial effects of colour on three-dimensional form. She also learnt her trade in Cardiff where she did a Masters degree.

Materials

James Hake’s work ranges from huge platters and bottles to delicate bowls and tiny lidded jars. Many of his glazes are made using local materials, gathered from quarries and clay seams in the countryside around his studio on the edge of the Lake District. James is widely recognised for his technical mastery of large works. Most pieces are wheel thrown, including his bottles. The bottles are fired on their sides so that the glaze creates a spontaneous dynamic effect. Amongst his work is a ‘Thrown Tea Bowl’, 15cm high.

Peter Beard is a distinguished British ceramic artist whose career spans over five decades. He studied industrial and furniture design at Ravensbourne College of Art in London in the 1970s. Beard draws inspiration from landscapes and ancient artefacts, particularly those of Egypt, infusing his pieces with a timeless quality. He has won awards in France and Japan, and his work is represented in numerous museums and collections both public and private, and he exhibits internationally. Amongst his work will be a ‘Hand built vessel with wax decoration’ in Stoneware).

Several of the makers at the fair produce figurative works and amongst them is Sally MacDonell. Sally creates personalities within her clay figures that share a sense of warmth and calm. A great observer of people, she elevates the everyday moments of human interaction from the ordinary into something special. All Sally’s figures are hand built using slabs of clay and coils. Sally’s busts draw inspiration from medieval sculpture. She brings ‘Torso with Dotty Hat’, Height 45cm hand built: white stoneware clay Glazed ceramic.

Balance

The more sculptural works also come in creature form. Shirley Vauvelle hand builds her work in stoneware and porcelain, exploring the balance of form and subtle character created through the smallest additions or removals and inspired by her garden and the nearby sea. She was originally a textile designer, finding pottery in her 40s. She creates a sculptural world inhabited by Carrier Beasts, Land Seekers, Lookers, Flower and Seed Thinkers, and Warriors, coexisting with plants, fish and birds under one universal sky. Each piece encourages discovery. At the fair will be, ‘Dream Carrier’ 41 x 47 x 12 hand built in stoneware and porcelain.

Tickets are priced from £22 and for the first time a small allocation of tickets is on sale for the Private View on Thursday night.
For more information on the fair and how to buy tickets, visit www.ceramicartlondon.com

Venue
Olympia West Hall, 12 Blythe Rd, London W14 8UX

See also: Revolutionary Highlights at Firsts London

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