Mingyu Du Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

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My ceramic practice explores the poetics of stillness at the threshold between vessel and sculpture. I use local stoneware, contrasting structural precision with unique matte glazes that highlight the clay's raw character. My work emphasizes the physical history of its creation. Stocked at Kettle's Yard museum shop and other galleries, I have also held a solo exhibition at Churchill College.

My ceramic practice explores the subtle interplay of form, texture, and material transformation, resulting in a contemporary body of work that occupies the threshold between vessel and sculpture. Drawing on both ancient traditions and refined modern influences, my pieces aim to evoke a quiet poetics of stillness, meticulously balancing structural precision with surface spontaneity.

Central to my practice is an ongoing dialogue with the clay as a living, responsive medium. I primarily utilize local stoneware clay bodies, which are selected for their inherent structural integrity and their ability to convey a sense of simultaneous fragility and endurance. My aesthetic focus is on experimental matte surfaces, which are achieved through unique glaze compositions and tests, intentionally highlighting the raw, innate character of the clay body itself.

My method employs the core ceramic techniques, combining both wheel-throwing and hand-building to develop distinctive forms. The process often involves throwing components on the wheel, followed by joining or hand-altering to achieve the final sculptural shape. Glazing is executed using a combination of dipping and painting. The pieces are then fired in an electric kiln to high temperatures. Each finished object is allowed to record the physical history of its creation, emphasizing the maker’s hands and the transformative alchemy of the firing process.