Discover our ever-growing collection of ceramic sculptures for sale. Our online gallery showcases unique ceramic sculptures by emerging artists from around the world, all carefully selected by our curatorial experts. Ceramic art typically takes the form of pottery or sculpture, primarily made out of clay, although glass and cement are also used. Ceramics is considered one of the main ‘plastic arts’, meaning that it is created through the moulding and modelling of a material.
Explore our online gallery of handcrafted ceramic sculptures for sale today, and discover a variety of styles, whether you’re after an elegant modernist vase or an abstract, sculptural ceramic. You can start with our collection of figurative ceramic sculptures – evocative contemporary interpretations of traditional busts or bodies intertwined.
Or perhaps discover our selection of Expressionist ceramic sculptures, which evoke powerful emotions through clay forms.
Notable ceramic artworks and artists
Ceramic art has gone through numerous reinventions. In ancient times, Greek pottery depicted mythology and daily life, while Chinese ceramics were renowned for their sophisticated glazing techniques.
The Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th century, led by figures like William Morris, revitalised ceramics by emphasising craftsmanship over industrial production. In the early 20th century, Art Nouveau and Art Deco introduced stylised, decorative approaches, blending ceramics with modernist aesthetics. Artists like Clarice Cliff created vibrant, geometric designs, which became iconic collectors’ items.
In the mid-20th century, studio pottery emerged, with artists like Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada championing individuality and ‘the artist's touch’ – leading to ceramics being recognised as a fine art, not just a craft. Winning the Turner Prize in 2003, contemporary potter Grayson Perry teases this interplay between craft and fine art, combining traditional decorative elements with probing political satire.
Ceramic sculptures for sale on Rise Art
The sculptor Jonathan Page is known for his graceful and dynamic works, characterised by sharp angles and smooth surfaces that echo the movement of nature. Inspired by modernists like Henry Moore, works such as Pebble Form 3 (2016), invite the viewer to explore the sculpture from every angle, with its bright finish expertly capturing light and shadow.
Likewise, the work of Michèle Jarnoux invokes and abstracts natural shapes, creating futuristic fossilised forms. The abstract ceramic Terre Paysage 9 (2020), for example, evokes a rockpool, coral, fossil, and alien structure. Hypnotic swirls and a crystallised centre create a fantastical sense of both the cutting-edge and eternal timelessness.
The work of Senegalese artist Diadji Diop focuses on the human body, and its relationship to identity, pain, and violence. Dynamic and evocative, Diop imbues his large scale nude ceramics with action, such as *Post Babel (2014), in which he propels his figures through a wall with force.
By contrast, sculptor Zhou Yiyan creates tender, sensitive expressions of human connection. Her Trois Grâces references the familiar art historical figures of The Three Graces with extraordinary softness, as the ceramic forms bend and twist towards each other, pierced with golden wire.
For something a little different, mixed-media artist David Rhys Jones incorporates ceramics into his sculptures to investigate the diversity of culture and architecture in contemporary cities. Rhys Jones explores urban environments, recording the trails left by successive generations of residents. In The Lady in White (2020), the artist gathers memories and items, imbuing them with new meanings and perspectives.
You can discover more contemporary ceramic sculptures for art collectors in our online gallery, and to find out more, visit our Guide to Sculpture.
