Barbara Kandiyoti is a Belgian contemporary ceramic artist.
Driven by a lifelong curiosity for creative processes, she explored a variety of artistic disciplines—including photography, fashion design, sewing, and interior decoration—before discovering in clay the medium that would become her primary form of expression.
It was under the guidance of artist and educator Eloise Bonehill that she gradually developed her interest in sculpture. Nature soon became her principal source of inspiration, particularly the world of mushrooms, whose forms, life cycles, and transformative capacities continue to inform her artistic research.
For Barbara Kandiyoti, working with clay is at once a technical, aesthetic, and spiritual exploration. Her practice is grounded in a close dialogue with the material itself: understanding the earth, accepting its tensions, cracks, and unexpected behaviors, while developing technical mastery that leaves room for what cannot be controlled. The integration of clay with other materials, especially wood, has emerged naturally within this process. Much like a wilted flower, a fissured trunk, a broken branch, or an overturned mushroom, her works embrace imperfection as a manifestation of life. Irregularities, fractures, and traces of the making process become integral elements of each piece, lending it both singularity and vitality.
Beyond the learning of ceramic techniques, her practice is part of a broader reflection on self-knowledge and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Each work contributes to a personal journey in which creation becomes a space for both artistic and human exploration.
Her fascination with mushrooms operates on multiple levels. Beyond their organic beauty, she is drawn to their regenerative properties and to their growing significance in contemporary discussions surrounding physical and mental well-being. Through her sculptures, she explores subtle connections between transformation, resilience, and the interdependence of living systems.
