It’s easy to love pottery: tactile, functional, and relatively affordable as an art form, it has a way of adding personality and cosiness to one’s home. That’s perhaps why the Singapore Clay Festival has been a mainstay in many a clay enthusiast’s calendar since its advent in 2021. This crowd favourite returns to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre from 6 to 10 November, with a bustling Clay Makers’ Market where hundreds of wares will be on sale just in time for gifting season. 

For those looking to take stock of the most exciting developments in the local contemporary ceramic scene, don’t miss the Shaping Clay exhibition. Ten potters selected from an Open Call showcase their inventive works alongside Masterclass trainers Tan Teck Heng, Loh Lik Kian, and Debbie Ng. Here are eight of the talents to watch: 

1) Teo Huey Ling: Curves and clouds wrought in porcelain 

For more than a decade, local potter Teo Huey Ling has been working with white porcelain and exploring its pliable, fluid nature. She often pairs angular lines with cloud-like shapes, creating pieces that invite both the eye and the hand to follow their gentle rhythms. Her fondness for white and brown slip-casting shows itself in the coloured and dotted petals in her work. This piece, titled In-Between Curves with Blue, invites viewers to interact with the works and assemble their own compositions using individual pieces.

2) Zestro Leow: Where tech and touch collide 

By tapping on unique additive technology such as airbrushing and 3D printing, Zestro Leow’s works capture attention from the get-go. His piece, Rooted Algorithms, features an hourglass silhouette formed from stratified layers of rainbow hues that liquify into criss-crossing porcelain strings. It’s an opportunity to understand the potential that avant-garde technologies might have when placed in the hands of artists.  

3) Emily Moh: A whimsical Soba-story

Emily Moh uses clay as a storytelling medium, and her main character is Soba, a chubby girl with a tear-stained face. Through her sculptures, one witnesses Soba taking on myriad costumes throughout her adventurous life. Catch a cheery Soba living a “Cabbage Dream” in the Shaping Clay exhibition — the cabbage is a humble symbol of nourishment and renewal and part of Moh’s Evergreen series which focuses on sustainable living. 

4) Hyesook Lee: A vessel of art and science 

Korean psychiatrist Hyesook Lee’s ceramic practice combines her love for the medium with her interest in science. Her elliptical vases imitate the cellular structure of mitochondria, the energy-generating organelle that animals, plants, and humans possess. Scientific words like “protons” and “electrons” are inscribed on the inside of the vessel, alongside the name of biochemist Peter Mitchell as well as the word “mom.”

“This work symbolises the life energy I received from my mother,” Lee shares, explaining the filial sentiment behind this seemingly cerebral work. “I feel that science and art ultimately seek the same truth.” 

5) Leng Soh: Stone in bloom

Many of Leng Soh’s works would not seem out of place in a greenhouse, given how their petal-like folds appear to blossom and unfurl. But in her latest work, Huddle, bud-like beings cluster together for attention. Compared to her usual oeuvre, the movement in this piece closes in rather than opening up. Capturing the idea of finding strength in community, the artist uses her medium to convey the human condition and the emotions of her inner world. 

6) Hairol Hossain: Clay as a language of resilience

For Hairol Hossain, clay is a metaphor for resilience. His ceramic forms often embody moral and emotional reflection, expressing qualities such as perseverance and healing despite the marks and scratches that they endure. In Detik-detik Kenangan (Moments of Memories), an oxblood underlayer seeps through the slab surfaces like a lingering wound.

7) Chua Choon Lims: Of deconstruction and balance 

Chua Choon Lims, who has worked with leather, wood, and printmaking before finding her voice in ceramics, approaches the medium with an instinct for transformation. Her recent works reimagine the classical form of a teapot by dismantling its familiar shapes and reassembling these parts into irregular sculptures. Her piece Equilibrium continues this exploration of balance and tension via an assemblage of elements at once organic and industrial. 

8) Aninda Varma: Weaving memory with material  

For Aninda Varma, clay is a vessel for memory and care. Born in India and now based in Singapore, she weaves fragments of her everyday life and shifting geographies into her work. Working intuitively, she often juxtaposes the softness of textiles with the rigidity of terracotta, creating dialogues between fragility and strength. Bound by Time is one such experimental work that incorporates fabrics and coconut fibre. As Varma puts it, “Each vessel I create reflects the diverse voices and experiences that shape our shared humanity.” 

These artists, alongside many more, will be showcasing their works and wares at the Singapore Clay Festival. Aside from the marketplace and exhibition, visitors can also look forward to hands-on workshops, clay demonstrations, and even pottery throwdowns, promising a full day of fun for any ceramic enthusiast.  

___________________________________

The Singapore Clay Festival runs from 7–9 November 2025 at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Get your tickets and find out more at singaporeclayfest.com.

Header image: Singapore Clay Festival 2024.