French Artist Creates “Impressions” of Discarded Objects in Ceramic

Ninon Hivert

Ninon Hivert’s work captures abandoned clothing and accessories; mimetic technique has led to exhibitions since 2019

French artist Ninon Hivert , has been selected as a laureate of the Art Prize 2026 at the international fair Ceramic Brussels, one of Europe’s leading events in the field. The award will be presented during the opening of the exhibition, which brings together ten artists in a curated group show with scenography developed in partnership with the Museum of Art and Design Brussels (MAD) and Action et Service gallery.

The recognition includes a solo exhibition during the fair’s 2027 edition, as well as artist residencies and other professional opportunities to be announced soon by the organization.

Hivert creates ceramic works that capture traces of urban daily life. Her sculptures reproduce abandoned objects – clothing, backpacks, umbrellas – found on streets and sidewalks, transforming the ephemeral into permanent records.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

“Like an archaeologist, Ninon Hivert captures the anonymous, the mundane, and gleans the urban,” states curator Andréanne Béguin. “Her ceramics are imprints, plastic translations of familiar and generic forms: clothing, accessories, everyday objects, always close to the body.”

The artist works with clay’s mimetic potential. The process resembles photography: there is a moment of capture followed by revelation, which occurs during the drying and firing of the material. “Mimicry is not so much in the final appearance as in the work in progress that is allowed to emerge,” Béguin explains.

Exhibition History

A 2021 graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Hivert has built an extensive exhibition record in France. She has held solo shows at Chapelle XIV gallery, with “Ce qui est, ce qui sera, ce qui fut” (What Is, What Will Be, What Was), inspired by philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman’s text; at Iconoscope gallery in Montpellier, with “Un peu plus de minutes avant l’après” (A Few More Minutes Before After); and at Carole Lambert gallery in Paris, where she presented “Le reste des Autres” (The Rest of Others) in 2023.

She also participated in the group exhibition “Wasteland” at Chapelle XIV (2023), where she presented pieces including “Faire Tapisserie” and “Sweat Dream”; “AMIEX” at Mécènes du Sud in Montpellier (2024), with works inspired by the Greek symbolon; and “Fragments” at Galerie Alain Gutharc (2023).

In 2023, her ceramics were featured in “Sur le Feu” at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Paris, with the installation “Fireproof,” composed of three variable-dimension sculptures. That same year, she participated in “plus,mieux – Jeux idéaux” at the Les Sheds Contemporary Art Center in Pantin, where she exhibited “Lambda,” a set of 15 stoneware sculptures.

Photo: Courtesy of Sophie Carree

The artist was selected for the 2022 Jeune Création Festival at the Fiminco Foundation in Romainville, with the installation “Res Nullius” – a Latin expression from civil law designating things that belong to no one but can be appropriated. In 2022, she presented “Le métier de vivre” at the Théâtre des Expositions at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, featuring the series “Faire Tapisserie” and “Faire Ailleurs.”

Between 2019 and 2021, she participated in group exhibitions including “Des soleils encore verts” at Bétonsalon – Center for Art and Research, and at the DOC! space, both curated by the Champs Magnétiques collective; “Personne.s,” a show of graduates from the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris (2021); and the Biennale de Paname in 2019, with the installation “Quelques minutes avant Ithaque.”

She also completed an artist residency at the L’Accolade Foundation, with the exhibition “L’étage des Suppositions,” and presented works at Galerie Jacques Bivouac with “L’émail du tissu social,” exploring relationships between painting, sculpture, and textiles.

Series and Concepts

Her recent works include “Res Nullius” (2022), with nine sculptures exploring the concept of ownerless objects; “Lambda” (2022-2023), a set of 15 stoneware pieces recording absent figures in postures of abandonment; and “Faire Tapisserie” (2021), a series of three ceramics reproducing clothing items such as jackets, fanny packs, and caps.

Born in 1995, Hivert began her training at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier, completed in 2017. Ceramic Brussels is held annually in the Belgian capital and brings together galleries, artists, and collectors specializing in contemporary ceramics.