Ádám Csaba Szabo

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Ceramicist

©Antonio Fekete

©Lajos Szabo

©Bikatöke

Gastro ceramics

Ádám's ceramic pieces are conceptual
His work is primarily inspired by traumas and injuries
Michelin-starred restaurants use his dishes and trays

Ádám Csaba Szabó's approach to ceramics is often a conceptual one, his intuitive methods giveway to an element of chance, and to themes such as amnesia or the aesthetics of wabi-sabi. His most exciting commission so far was to collaborate with the Michelin-starred restaurant Onyx at the 2018 Gourmet Festival. Instead of disposable plates, the restaurant served its dishes in unfired raw clay pots, which even if they were discarded afterwards, became part of the land again once the rain fell. As this required a lot of dishes, Ádám decided to teach the restaurant's team how to make a pinch pot. In a little over three weeks, the team created 2,000 serving dishes by hand, out of about one ton of clay – thanks to which Ádám's work played a crucial role not only in serving the restaurant’s creations, but also in its branding and as a team building experience.

Interview

©HFDA The Sparkle Content

©Lajos Szabo

How do tradition and innovation meet in your work?: I feel a close connection to Hungarian pottery traditions, but at the same time I am influenced by the aesthetics of the Japanese culture, wabi-sabi, zen and the works of John Cage. I consider tradition as a living and ever-changing base of common knowledge from which I can not only take what I need, but to which I can also add elements.
What is your working method?: I work from the bottom up. I like to play and find things, to give space to serendipity, and find a function for the item later. My work is also heavily characterised by the wire clay cutting technique, I use it to shape objects by incision. I am fascinated by its expressivity, the way it is able to capture a gesture in the material.
Where do you get your inspiration from?: My work is mostly inspired by traumas and injuries, either personal or public incidents. I find the errors of memory particularly inspiring, which I have dealt with in several series of sculptures.
What is the hardest part of your job?: It is very difficult to find a balance when making "gastro" ceramics. For these objects, the final item is not mine alone: I need to leave room for the chef, the food, the environment and the guest, yet still keep my creativity within the piece.

Ádám Csaba Szabo is a master artisan: he began his career in 2010 and he started teaching in 2018