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Until the end of October, “Crafting Reality: In Search of Alternative Habitats” is on view in Valencia as part of València Design Fest and Tiempo+Materia. Organized by the Institute of Creative Industries, the exhibition brings together more than 60 works by 19 Polish artists and craftspeople, presenting the diversity of contemporary Polish craft — from ceramics, glass, and wood to textiles, embroidery, and contemporary interpretations of traditional techniques.

This year’s edition of València Design Fest features Poland as the guest country. The festival is one of Spain’s important events dedicated to contemporary design, bringing together a local and Mediterranean perspective with the international design community. Poland’s participation provides an opportunity to present a broad spectrum of contemporary Polish design and craft in Valencia, as well as different approaches to materials, tradition, and creative processes.

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Our Ceramics at Crafting Reality

We are pleased to be part of this exhibition. As part of “Crafting Reality”, we present a series of black ceramic objects: boxes made using the Kurinuki technique and sculptures from the TOR series.

Our practice grows from a desire for a more attentive and direct relationship with material. We work with locally sourced materials that we collect ourselves, seeking to understand their properties rather than imposing predetermined ideas upon them. In the process of making, we allow the material to become a co-creator of the form.

Wood firing is particularly important to our practice. It is a process that requires time, attention, and a constant presence at the kiln, while its outcome can never be fully predicted. Temperature, atmosphere, fire, smoke, and ash influence the final appearance of the objects, leaving traces on their surfaces that cannot be fully designed or replicated.

Another important aspect of our work is looking to historical techniques and forms for reference. We work with local materials while drawing inspiration both from the traditions of our region and from the ceramics of other cultures. In black ceramics, these two directions meet for us — local heritage and distant sources of inspiration.

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Kurinuki Boxes and TOR 

At the exhibition in Valencia, we present, among other works, objects made using Kurinuki, a traditional Japanese method of working with clay. The form is created from a solid block of material by gradually cutting and removing fragments from it. Rather than constructing an object by adding separate elements, the form is, in a sense, revealed from within the block of clay.

The shapes of our Kurinuki boxes and sculptures from the TOR series refer to geological forms — their erosion, cracks, and irregular surfaces. Their sculptural character exists somewhere between geology and archaeology. Their deep, matte black surfaces and rough, stone-like edges make the objects resemble fragments excavated from the earth more than conventionally understood functional objects.

Presenting several related forms alongside one another allows the differences between them to become visible. Although they are created through a similar process, each retains its own rhythm of cuts, cracks, traces of fire, and surface textures. This uniqueness is one of the most important aspects of working with material for us.

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Contemporary Polish Craft in Valencia

“Crafting Reality” presents contemporary Polish craft as a field in constant motion — between tradition and experimentation, locality and exchange, inherited knowledge and the search for new ways of working with matter.

The exhibition is structured around three interconnected themes: “We Are Earth: Resistance to the Anthropocentric Catastrophe,” “We Are Roots: Updating Tradition,” and “We Are the Path: Designing the Present.” Our work is presented within the first of these sections, which focuses on the relationship between humans, the earth, natural materials, and processes that exist beyond our complete control.

Alongside ceramics, the exhibition presents works in wood and glass, textiles, embroidery, and contemporary interpretations of traditional techniques. What connects these diverse practices is an interest in material, process, and the ways in which relationships between humans and the world around us can be formed.

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Artists in “Crafting Reality”

The exhibition “Crafting Reality: In Search of Alternative Habitats” features:

Jan Ankiersztajn, Agnieszka Bar, Monika Dąbrowska Picewicz, Formsophy (Alicja Prussakowska and Jakub Kijowski), Maciej Gąsienica Giewont, Huba Studio (Jakub Ciemachowski and Piotr Kołakowski), Justyna Kosińska, Zofia Kusch, Agata Marchlewicz, Agnieszka Mazur, Olga Milczyńska, Beata Momot, Aleksander Oniszh, Monika Patuszyńska, Jakub Przyborowski, P55 MIRROR (Beata Ludwin and Łukasz Wołek), Studio REST (Dominika Gacka and Julia Piekarska), Beata Wietrzyńska / In Weave, and Aleksandra Zawistowska.

The exhibition is curated by Dr Alicja Głuszek, with the public programme curated by Marisa Santamaria. The exhibition is accompanied by talks, discussions, and masterclasses exploring contemporary craft, materials, and design.

Crafting Reality: En Busca de Hábitats Alternativos

12 September – 31 October 2026

PASAJE 94, Valencia, Spain

València Design Fest / Tiempo+Materia

Organizer: Institute of Creative Industries

Partners: Polish Institute in Madrid, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, European Craft Alliance (ECA), Nów. Nowe Rzemiosło Association.

The project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Kultura inspirująca programme for 2025–2026.

Photo: Alka Murat

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