Unearthing Ibiza’s contemporary ceramics scene
Ibiza's pottery heritage dates back thouands of years to the time of the Phoenicians. We meet a trio of international, island-based ceramicists who are carving out their own paths in clay.
Ambar Parker isn’t your average ceramicist. Born and raised in Ibiza’s Santa Eulalia to British parents, she studied at the island’s IES Balafia before moving to Barcelona to study audio-visual translation aged 21. It was in the Catalonian capital that Parker’s passion for ceramics was sparked. ‘I used to walk past this pottery studio every day. It always looked so cool and I was sure it would be something I’d love.’ It wasn’t until a friend bought her a class as a gift, however, that her relationship with clay truly began. ‘I was hooked from the start,' she smiles. 'I started learning twice a week at Studio Kanay, and I became the class geek. There’s so much to learn, new things every day, I was totally obsessed.’ In 2016 Parker packed up and moved to Mallorca, with a plan to set up her own ceramics studio in Palma. This she almost accomplished with the help of government funding, but then the pandemic struck, and all bets were off. ‘I had the choice to stay in a tiny apartment in Palma city centre or return to my parents’ home in Ibiza.’ she remembers. ‘My parents have plenty of space and they live right by the sea. It was the obvious choice, so I moved home for the first time in years. I was frustrated with how things had worked out, but my father suggested I set up my potter’s wheel in a corner of my grandmother’s garage in Santa Eulalia. That was the start of M-Bark.’ Parker began to claim the garage piece by piece and by the time her boyfriend, fellow potter Gonzalo Rajo Venero, arrived from Palma, the studio was up and running. Today Parker and Venero are partners in M-Bark, sharing the work according to their skill sets. Their subtle, striking collections, while inspired by the light and colours of Ibiza, are firmly contemporary in design, with a crisp, almost urban appeal that shuns Ibiza’s bohemian sensibilities in favour of something altogether more modern. ‘I love Ibiza and it is my home. There are elements of the island – the water and the waves for example – that absolutely influence our designs. And the whitewashed churches, with their minimal, almost primitive lines. But we stay away from that cluttered, hippy vibe. Our collections are clean, contemporary, and as much influenced by the city as the campo.’ Whatever their influence, with collections that sell out as fast as they launch, the duo are clearly getting something right.
A native of Ibiza and one of the island’s most celebrated young creatives, Laura de Grinyo learnt her trade at the foot of Adrián Ribas, one of Ibiza’s fabled master craftsmen, in the Sa Teulera studio founded in 1945 by the ceramicist Daifa. De Grinyo’s LADIO label now operates out of her own studio, surrounded by the pine trees, Mediterranean plants and rich natural world that that influence her fluid style. ‘My style stems from the origins of Ibiza's pottery tradition but nature, with its light, fractals, and golden ration, is my main source of inspiration. I am also fascinated by astronomy, alchemy, and the universal order, where light and darkness connect and where everything finds its place, time, vibration and reason for being.’ LADIO has received great critical acclaim during the last two years, with collaborations with Spanish fashion house Loewe and the interior designer Isabel López-Quesada’s newly minted Isita label. De Grinyo’s international success shines a welcome light on Ibiza’s heritage crafts revival.
Born and raised in the West Indies, the ceramicist Yvette Spowers is largely self-taught, using simple tools and techniques to create large-scale, sculptural pieces that are fired with smoke for a rich and mercurial finish. Spowers’ clean lines and earthy tones are particularly recognisable in her vases, which are founded in dramatic groupings in homes across the island. At Fincadelica, one of Ibiza’s most beautiful homes, Spowers has created a vast light sculpture comprised of individual ceramic lampshades that appears to hover above the 18-seater indoor dining table. In a home filled with collectable art, the sculpture is a study in both form and function.
