Ateliers Courbet is pleased to announce Ukrainian artist-ceramicist Serhii Makhno’s inaugural gallery exhibition opening November 8th, 2023 at the Chelsea gallery. The exhibition will unveil a series of large-scale ceramic works, both functional and decorative, that were created in Kyiv by Makhno and his team of master artisans in the midst of the current war. With this latest body of work, Makhno expands upon his portfolio of sculptural lights and ceramic objets, exploring new scales, forms, and functions.

Challenged by the subsequent hindrances of the worldwide pandemic and the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine, Makhno and his team were able to find ways to reunite at the studio to carry on with their work. Their practice provided them a cathartic outlet as they continue to hand-model their series of unique pendant lights and functional and decorative works.

Serhii Makhno, has honed an iconic design vocabulary for over twenty years, spanning architecture, interior design, sculpture, and objets d’art. Since its inception in 2003 in Kyiv, Makhno’s studio has become a reflection of the artist’s multi-disciplinary vision — housing a ceramic workshop, functional art, and lighting design studio alongside Makhno’s team of architects and designers. Stemming from ongoing conversations with gallery founder Melanie Courbet, Serhii Makhno and Courbet developed a new series of unique sculptural and functional pieces, hand modeled in ceramic and plaster, expanding upon the ceramic sculptor’s extensive portfolio of ceramic objects and sculpture, and marking his first exploration of furniture design ideas with ceramic.

As reflected in his work across mediums, Makhno draws inspiration from traditional artistic methods, using authentic techniques and natural materials to create objects that live at the intersection of cultural heritage, functional design and contemporary art. Makhno and his team of local artisans hand-form each of the ceramic pieces in their Kyiv studio before tediously layering multiple glazes, giving the surface its recognizable highly textured skin. Makhno creates timeless, contemporary works anchored in tradition, both informed by the artist’s Ukrainian cultural and artistic heritage and archetypal or timeless beauty found in Nature.