StudioZAND receives a prestigious biennial ceramics prize from the Van Achterbergh-Domhof Foundation!
The jury report mentions the appreciation for their many years of dedication to ceramics. The jury unanimously chose them because of the quality of their own work, the high-quality design products they produce for designers such as Aldo Bakker and Hella Jongerius, and their efforts to broaden and share knowledge and pass it on to a new generation.
Craftsmanship has always been an important part of their work, connecting the past with the present, giving shape to new ideas and developments in the field. At studioZAND, for example, high-fired porcelain is recycled and they can make bone china from cow bones or cremation ashes.
Frans Ottink and Erna Huppelschoten have been working together under the name studioZAND since 2003. The name comes from playing, designing, digging, and sanding; they love going to the beach.
In addition to their own work, the duo has also designed a series of Geometrical Tableware Objects. The shapes they chose later became functional forms ‘by themselves’, not in advance, but the new owner can also add something to them. Recent additions include Frans Ottink’s Porcelain Cabinets, a poetic object made of bone china and oak wood.
More information about the award can be found on the website of the Van Achterbergh-Domhof Foundation. In addition to a cash prize, the award includes an exhibition at the Princessehof ceramics museum in Leeuwarden. StudioZAND will be working with the museum to organize an exhibition later this year. This exhibition will be open to the public from July 4, 2026.
Portrait photography: Liesbeth Grooff
