Willem van Hooff
Small Cream Flat Vessel (sold)

Based in Eindhoven, where he graduated from the city’s Design Academy in 2016, Dutch craftsman Willem van Hooff reinvigorates forgotten techniques, products and materials to create objects with a pronounced sense of character – pieces with unique souls that challenge the apparent perfection of mass production. His style is raw and unrefined, working primarily with his hands, and inspired heavily by African clay traditions.

In collaboration with Metamorphoses, van Hooff turned to Greek ceramic traditions for two new sets of vessels, each comprising three pieces, to be displayed interchangeably. The series reimagines the handles of classical vessels, which are playfully accentuated in scale and proportion, whilst the typical round curves of ancient works are displaced by flat yet textured surfaces on two sides. Pictured here is one of three terra vessels – a stout piece in a pale stone-like colour, with a slender handle built into one side of the object’s body.