Starting on 16 February 2024, the Museum Prinsenhof Delft will present the exhibition Pioneering Ceramics. Ceramics are hot! A growing vanguard of artists and designers choose clay and revitalize the craft by exploring the boundaries of the medium. Pioneering Ceramics places masterpieces from the museum’s collection side by side with the work of contemporary makers. An exciting dialogue and exceptional insights are the result. For while the basic formula for ceramics has remained the same, the world to which makers are responding has changed profoundly. Pioneering Ceramics presents multiple points of view and narratives, and invites visitors to look at the past from a contemporary perspective.
The Museum Prinsenhof Delft holds a large collection of Delft earthenware, including the famous Delftware. In the 17th century, the experimental drive of Delftware potters trying to imitate Chinese porcelain led to the development of Delftware. This set off a period of flourishing for ceramics that started in Delft. With the museum’s earthenware collection from the 17th and 18th centuries as a starting point, Pioneering Ceramics opens a dialogue with the creative experiments of today. This brings surprizing similarities and significant differences to the fore. The exhibition clearly shows that innovation is inspired by social change. On the basis of current topics such as sustainability, locality and diversity, the exhibition invites visitors to discover links between then and now.
