MAKHNO studio's ZEMLYA collection highlights the essence of clay

MAKHNO STUDIO LAUNCHES ZEMLYA HOME COLLECTIO IN NY

On November 8th, 2023, the New York-based design gallery Les Ateliers Courbet hosted a presentation of ZEMLYA, a new collection of unique ceramic furniture and decor by the artist Serghii Makhno from MAKHNO studio. The author presented innovative products he and his team have worked on over the past two years. Meaning ground, land, and Earth in Ukrainian, ZEMLYA is a paradoxical collection that draws inspiration from Makhno’s native land, Ukraine — carefully blending archaism, futurism, and the essence of clay, creating a stunning array of furniture, decor, lighting, mirrors, and bathroom pieces. ‘For me, Zemlya is the beginning and the end. It’s where we come from and where we return to. And even though in English these are three completely different words, for me it’s the same concept,’ shares the artist.

all images courtesy MAKHNO Studio

crafting monolithic pieces by overcoming clay properties

ZEMLYA’s peculiarity is that the handmade objects have large and intricate shapes: massive two-meter-long lamps are shining art sculptures; one hundred-kilogram biomorphic chairs resemble beasts; long ceramic benches and tables fascinate with their monolithic stature. Thanks to specialized clay techniques, the artisans and MAKHNO Studio (more here) overcame the fundamental property of the material – the attraction to solid, rounded forms, creating a combination of flat, tubular, and curved structures. The ceramists also used their inventions in glazing, texturing, coloring, sintering, oxidizing, and restoring surfaces. They experimented with the atmosphere and temperature in kilns, combining many production techniques in one object. Special attention is given to the studio’s QUADROPODS artistic blocks, which became the basis for a huge part of the collection.

ZEMLYA collection on display at Les Ateliers Courbet in New York

from mirrors and lighting to washbasins

ZEMLYA comprises several parts: furniture, decor, lighting, mirrors, and bathroom. The furniture evokes giants with intricate textures that urge visitors to touch, hug, lean against, and look at. While unusually raw in their design, these pieces do not require any decoration and preserve the comfort needed in furniture. MAKHNO Studio’s sturdy armchairs from the DUTA, PYL, and SYAIVO series seem to be carved from a solid piece of rock, guaranteeing an explosive visual effect. But to create SHELEST, ZMIY, KOLYSKA, and other chairs, the artist and his team invented a unique technique of manufacturing and combining thin tubular components, which others cannot replicate. The VALUN table, meanwhile, boasts an almost two-meter-long straight ceramic tabletop, which is unusual for a typically rounded material. The ULAMOK and MUL accent benches stun with their monolithic nature, while the KVARTS table masterfully combines many parts. The creativity and rhythm of the VUSHKA armchair and the TYMCHASOVE mirror are worth mentioning separately, as these works set a new standard for object collection design. The same can be said about the PRATSYA double table or SPOKYI rounded bed.

DUTA PUZATA chair and VUSHKA mirror

As for the lighting, Serghii Makhno highlights his well-known superpower, ceramic lamps, by adding a new twist. The STUPA lamp can reach two meters in height; the QUADROLAMP is a story of skillful decoration with futuristic QUADROPODS blocks; the BA-VOV-NA series looks like living buds blooming with honey light. For their manufacture, a unique technique of ceramic crack formation was invented, which imitates natural tectonic processes, as if from the heart of an exploding planet, the radiance breaks through them. The addition to the KHMARA series deserves special mention, as the iconic shape is finally presented as a floor lamp.

BIBLIOTEKA bookshelves

Moving on to the decor section, the artist made it look like a playful ceramic construction set using the QUADROPODS. This new MAKHNO invention rethinks the methods of working with interiors. These six-pointed ceramic blocks can be used as wall tiles, furniture components, support elements, or independent decorative pieces, encouraging one to create entire interior worlds from these blocks. Examples include the QUADROWALL art wall and BIBLIOTEKA shelving. Completing the ZEMLYA collection is a selection of mirrors and washbasins. The PISOK line of ceramic washbasins consists of single, double, long, and short products with unique glazing and painting decorations. For most demanding aesthetics, the studio crafted BANIAK inspired by pre-industrial aesthetics. The mirrors are represented by the OKO series and BULKA and BUBLYK, which have artistic components and go beyond the usual design solutions, as their decor pairs different clays and shapes, from tubers to QUADROPODS pieces. The most complex and skillful thing here is to merge the mirrored core and the sintered figure decoration. The new collection is on display at Les Ateliers Courbet gallery until January 10, 2024.

SYAIVO chair