Lorie Ballage

Lorie Ballage explores the fluidity of water to question rigid structures of contemporary existence

NEW YORK – French visual artist Lorie Ballage, 31, was awarded the Art Prize at the Ceramic Brussels 2026 fair, an event held from January 21-25 in the Belgian capital. Selected from among 10 finalist artists, Ballage attended the curated group exhibition in partnership with MAD Brussels and Action et Service, where she received prizes including a solo exhibition at the 2027 edition of the fair, as well as residencies and other opportunities yet to be announced. The international recognition adds to the three-year work grant awarded by the Kulturådet (Cultural Council of Norway) in 2025, consolidating a nearly decade-long trajectory in Scandinavia, where the ceramicist develops immersive installations that transform exhibition spaces into sensory environments centered on the materiality and symbolism of water. With a master’s degree from the Bergen Academy of Fine Arts and a curriculum that includes solo exhibitions in the Czech Republic, Norway, and Belgium, Ballage emerges as one of the most distinctive contemporary voices in European ceramics.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Born in Paris in 1994, Ballage pursued a transnational academic education that shaped her hybrid artistic approach. She began her studies in Fine Arts at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts de Tours, France, between 2012 and 2013, before participating in an Erasmus exchange at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, Scotland. The Scottish experience was decisive: after completing her bachelor’s degree in 2015, Ballage permanently transferred to Scandinavia, where she obtained her master’s in Fine Arts at the Kunst- og designhøgskolen i Bergen (Bergen Academy of Art and Design) in 2017.

Since then, the artist has established Bergen as her operational base, actively participating in the Norwegian and European art circuit. Her work is already part of the permanent collections of the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim, the municipality of Bergen, and the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in the Netherlands, as well as the Apple House Gallery at the Guldagergaard ceramic research center in Denmark.

From phobia to diving: water as a transformative element

Ballage’s poetics arises from an autobiographical experience of confronting fear. Her fascination with oceanic immensity and its unfathomable depths led the artist to the practice of scuba diving, which became both a physical challenge and a symbolic journey. This experience triggered a systematic investigation into how water shapes human perceptions, dissolves boundaries, and invites vulnerability.

In her installations, Ballage works predominantly with manually constructed ceramic sculptures, contrasted by recycled industrial materials, sound narratives, and scenographic elements. These multisensory environments create zones of indefinition between the familiar and the unsettling, inviting the public to pause and reflect on invisible layers of connection between individuals, surroundings, and collectivities.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

At the core of her production is the quest to open dialogues about the structures that govern contemporary existence and the possibilities that emerge when fluidity is privileged over rigidity. Exploring themes such as desire, failure, and interconnection, the artist creates moments in which the viewer can engage with their inner world while contemplating their place in the broader environmental and social context.

Exhibition circuit: from Bergen to Prague

The “Piscine Municipale” (Municipal Pool) series represents the central axis of Ballage’s recent production. The exhibition premiered at Studio17 in Stavanger in 2023, traveled to Carl Berner Projektrom in Oslo in 2024, and arrived at Pragovka Gallery in Prague in early 2025, where the artist also gave a lecture on her creative process. The show investigates the public pool as a space of collective ritual, affective memory, and democratization of aquatic leisure.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Simultaneously, the exhibition “Flooding Away” traveled between Gallery ASK in Åsgårdstrand and Wrong House in Kortrijk, Belgium, in 2024. The title suggests both literal and metaphorical overflow, a recurring theme in a body of work that treats water as an agent of transformation and destabilization of certainties.

In 2023, the installation “Ripples – Rituals” occupied the Kunstgarasjen in Bergen, exploring the circular patterns that water draws on the surface as a metaphor for emotional and social reverberations. Meanwhile, “Bath Time,” presented at the KRAFT space in Bergen in 2021, addressed the intimacy of bathing as a moment of vulnerability and renewal.

The 2025 calendar also includes participation in the group show “Sink & Soap” at Buskerud Kunstsenter in Drammen, Norway, and in “Le jeu et les couleurs” (The game and the colors) at Atelier José Vermeersch in Lendelede, Belgium, demonstrating the artist’s growing presence on the European circuit.

Participation in international group shows and biennials

In addition to solo exhibitions, Ballage has accumulated significant presence in prominent group exhibitions. In 2024, she participated in the renowned “Høstutstillingen” (Autumn Exhibition) at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, one of Norway’s most traditional annual shows, which brings together jury-selected artists. That same year, she was part of the “Talente – Masters of the Future” fair at the Trade Fair Ground in Munich, Germany, focused on young talents in design and applied arts.

In 2023, she was selected for the Latvia Ceramics Biennial with the “Martinsons Award” at the Mark Rothko Art Center in Daugapils, and for CERCO 2023, XVIII International Contemporary Ceramics Prize in Zaragoza, Spain. Her participation in the show “We Are Vessels” at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2022, inserted her work into a curatorial debate about ceramics as a metaphor for the body and containment.

The international trajectory dates back to 2018, when she participated in the “Initiator” project in collaboration with Forlane 6 Studio for Eleusis 2021, European Capital of Culture, in Elefsina, Greece. That year, she also joined “Project Network” at the Apple House Gallery of Guldagergaard in Skælskør, Denmark, following a residency at the ceramic research center.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Ceramic Brussels 2026: recognition at international fair

In January 2026, Lorie Ballage was selected as one of the 10 laureates of the Art Prize at the Ceramic Brussels fair, a specialized contemporary ceramics event held from January 21-25 in the Belgian capital. The artist was present at the opening of the curated group exhibition, which presented the finalists’ works in scenography developed in partnership with MAD Brussels (Museum of Arts and Design of Brussels) and the company Action et Service.

The prize, awarded during the opening ceremony, includes a guaranteed solo exhibition at the 2027 edition of Ceramic Brussels, as well as opportunities for artistic residencies and other awards whose complete list will be announced soon by the organization. The fair, which has consolidated itself as one of the main European gatherings dedicated to art ceramics, brings together galleries, collectors, curators, and artists from various countries.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Artistic residencies: experimentation and material research

Artistic residencies constitute a fundamental pillar of Ballage’s working method, allowing for technical experimentation and conceptual deepening. Between 2019 and 2020, she completed a long-term residency in the “La Céramique Comme Expérience” (Ceramics as Experience) program at ENSA Limoges, France, a historic European ceramic education institution. The French experience connected the artist to the traditions of Limoges porcelain while allowing contemporary investigations into the material.

In 2019, she participated in the “Sunday Morning Residency” at the European Ceramic Workcentre (EKWC) in Oisterwijk, Netherlands, an international center of excellence specialized in supporting artists in experimentation with advanced ceramic techniques. The Dutch institution maintains one of the most important contemporary ceramic art collections, including works by Ballage in its permanent collection.

The sonic dimension of her work was developed during residencies at the Bergen Center for Electronic Arts (BEK) in 2023 and 2024, where the artist had access to specialized sound studios. The integration of soundscapes with ceramic installations amplifies the immersive experience, creating auditory layers that dialogue with the materiality of the sculptures.

Other residencies include the “Midwater Residency” in Poros, Greece (2018), focused on art and marine ecology, and the aforementioned passage through Guldagergaard in Denmark. In 2015, still early in her career, Ballage developed the soundscape “Abyss” broadcast in Glasgow through the experimental radio festival “Radiophrenia” in Scotland.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Institutional support and public recognition

The granting of the three-year Kulturådet scholarship in 2025 represents the second funding cycle of this nature for Ballage. Between 2020 and 2023, the artist had already received a three-year grant for newly established young artists, a program that provides basic income to allow exclusive dedication to artistic production. The new support, aimed at established artists, confirms the consolidation of her career in the Norwegian cultural system.

In addition to Kulturådet, Ballage received multiple supports from the Kulturdirektoratet (Directorate of Culture) for specific projects in 2023 and 2024, from the Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond (Visual Artists’ Remuneration Fund), and from the municipality of Bergen. In 2025, she also obtained support from Kunstsentrene (Art Centers) through the regional resources program for visual arts, and from the municipality of Bergen for international support, facilitating the circulation of her exhibitions abroad.

The robust public funding reflects the importance attributed by the Norwegian cultural system to fostering contemporary artistic production, allowing artists to develop long-term work without immediate commercial pressures.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Academic work and knowledge transmission

Alongside artistic production, Ballage maintains significant pedagogical activity. Between 2020 and 2022, she held positions at the Faculty of Art, Music and Design at the University of Bergen, including an assistant professor position (50%) between August 2021 and December 2022, and management of the master’s program in Fine Arts (50%) between March 2021 and August 2022. Before that, she worked as a university lecturer and scientific assistant in the ceramics and clay department.

In 2024, she was a guest professor for two days at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, Netherlands, an internationally prestigious art education institution. The invitation to teach at Rietveld demonstrates recognition of her expertise in both ceramics and contemporary installation practices.

Ballage also maintains a regular program of lectures and public conversations about her work. In 2025, she spoke at Pragovka Gallery in Prague; in 2024, at the Norsk Billedhoggerforening (Norwegian Sculptors’ Association) in Oslo; in 2023, at Kunstgarasjen in Bergen. Previously, she delivered the “Monday Lecture” at the art department of the University of Bergen in 2021 and participated in an online interview with the Artfolk platform in 2020, during the pandemic.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Cultural entrepreneurship and collective management

In 2021, Ballage co-founded Cone7 – Ceramic Workshop AS, a ceramic workshop located in Laksevåg, Bergen, structured as a limited liability company. The initiative reflects a growing trend among contemporary artists to create self-managed spaces for production and resource sharing, especially for practices that require specialized equipment such as high-temperature ceramic kilns.

Since 2017, she has also acted as curator and director of Galleri Kronborg in Bergen, an independent space that programs exhibitions of emerging and established artists. Her dual role as artist and cultural manager demonstrates Ballage’s engagement with the local artistic ecosystem, contributing to the infrastructure for production and circulation of contemporary art in the Norwegian city.

The artist is a member of several professional organizations, including Norske Kunsthåndverk (Norwegian Applied Arts), Norske Billedkunstnere (Norwegian Visual Artists), Norsk Billedhoggerforening (Norwegian Sculptors’ Association), VISP (Bergen artists’ association), and Kunstgarasjens Venner (Friends of Kunstgarasjen). These affiliations guarantee access to professional networks, resources, and exhibition opportunities.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

Perspectives: ceramics between craft and concept

Lorie Ballage’s production fits into a moment of critical reassessment of ceramics in the field of contemporary art. Historically associated with applied arts and functional design, ceramics has experienced in recent decades a shift toward the territory of fine arts and installation, with artists exploring its sculptural, symbolic, and performative qualities.

The French artist’s work dialogues with this expanded tradition but distinguishes itself through its emphasis on spatial immersion and the construction of environmental narratives. By combining handmade ceramics with industrial materials, sound, and scenographic elements, Ballage moves away from both the autonomous ceramic object and the purely conceptual installation, proposing a third way that simultaneously values artisanal materiality and the phenomenological experience of space.

The centrality of water in her poetics brings her work closer to contemporary debates about ecology, climate change, and human relationships with natural elements. Without resorting to environmental didacticism, her installations operate through suggestion and atmosphere, creating conditions for the public to elaborate their own connections between ceramic forms, soundscapes, and the architectural spaces they temporarily inhabit.

The choice of themes such as failure, absurdity, and obsolescence also positions Ballage in dialogue with philosophical and artistic traditions that value the imperfect, the transitory, and the non-functional as legitimate aesthetic and existential categories. In this sense, ceramics functions not only as a construction material but as a tool for critical questioning about standards of efficiency, utility, and success that structure contemporaneity.

Website: https://lorieballage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorieballage/