Stavros Perakis shapes design with clay

Central image: Naked Vessels, 2017, 1rst prize at the 55th Panhellenic Ceramics Competition

Stavros Perakis' roots are under Cretan soil but he himself now lives and works in Athens. Having first explored ceramics in 2011 and after co-founding the self-managed art space Da in the city of Heraklion in 2014, he was awarded at the 55th Panhellenic Ceramics Competition in 2017, and now creates works of art and functional objects for restaurants, hotels, residences as well as galleries and exhibitions. His creations are distinguished by elegance, simplicity and movement, characteristics given with great skill to the otherwise robust material that is clay.

But Stavros Perakis himself will tell us more about his work.

Fluid Vases, 2021, for MON COIN Studio. Photo: Bill Politis

In addition to the fluidity and sculpted curves, you introduce linear incisions to the form of your sculptures that disrupt their organic character. How did this vocabulary come about, and how do you manage to keep the objects functional?

I have always considered myself deeply influenced by the field of architecture, which was also the subject of my studies. As far back as my school years, I learned to read and speak the language of design. A language that still fascinates me today. The point and the line are the basic principles of this language and will remain an integral part of my work. When it comes to ceramics, the way I work most of the time doesn't involve design at all. Design starts from a quantity of clay and an idea about the object, e.g. vase. All decisions are made during the crafting process, like a small labour -figuratively speaking- where you don't know what the result will be until it is completed. It is like co-creating with the material at a specific time and place. Many times the result is not satisfactory, other times it is a surprise that comes into the present. Clay possesses an organic character by nature. It moves, mutates and shrinks. It is an obedient friend, with its peculiarities but also its limitations.

Ariadne's Thread, 2017, “Metamorphosis” exhibition at Eleni Marneri Gallery

The influence of the colour, geometry and texture of the Cretan land as well as the art of the Minoan culture is strong in the Ariadne, Ariadne's thread and Minotaur vases. Where do you draw inspiration from?

This particular collection was presented in 2019 at Eleni Marneri Gallery. It was a group exhibition organised by the "Ceramic Forms" school, where I taught at the time. The purpose of the exhibition was commercial with a touristic character. So I was led to present a piece of the history of the Minoan civilisation, through three ceramic vases in three different colours. The exhibition was a great success and received very good reviews. Other than history, I draw inspiration from nature, architecture, cinema and the arts in general but also through everyday life, guided by the economic and socio-political conditions that we all experience.

“Before you - offer to Zeus”, 2021, ^th Ceramics Exhibition at the Archeological Museum of Olympia by Group Ceramists Traces. Photo: Bill Politis

You have created lamps, dining tables and other objects, based on porcelain and clay, that go beyond the small scale. What do you consider to be the advantages of using these materials, compared to other common ones such as wood, metal or glass?

I don't think any material is superior to another. The different materials represent the different personalities that find ways to express themselves through them. A designer is in a position to combine them but he will need craftsmen to manufacture the individual parts. Craftsmen with different equipment who know how to generate the desired result. The terms craftsman, artist, and designer are subtle. For me, clay has given me the opportunity to move between all three at times. The large scale is a challenge in ceramics if you consider that before it enters the kiln you have to handle dry soil, you have to know how to hold it and lift it so that your effort is not wasted. Pottery is infinite, one cannot master it entirely. It is created through the elements of nature (water, fire, earth). And by earth, I don't just mean clay, but a number of periodic table chemical elements like silicon, calcium, iron, titanium, and more. They are materials that we use to vitrify a ceramic body, and at temperatures between 1000 C and 1300 C they mutate their chemical properties and reveal the final results.

Roots, 2022, 7th Ceramics Exhibition at the Archeological Museum Of Herakleion by Group Ceramists Traces. Photo: Bill Politis

As part of dealing with interior design, you have collaborated with brands and architectural offices such as Block 722. Tell us more about this.

For the last two years, I have been a member of the Unprocessed Realities team. Together we have a very good collaboration with Block 722. Thus, we have been given the opportunity to design and manufacture unique ceramics in some of their projects. Bedside tables, consoles, sconces, but also smaller-scale ceramics such as platters, and indoor and outdoor decorations, are some of the items we have co-created. I particularly enjoy such collaborations because they help me improve myself personally as well as professionally. It is very nice that the aesthetics of the office have matched the aesthetics of the team, with the result doing us justice.

Through your participation in the exhibition Forma | 1st Athens Creators Showcase at Romantso, you had the opportunity to see other creators' works and chat with the audience. What do you think is the state of Greek handmade design?

Greece has a large number of talented and creative people who usually work alone, without many opportunities for creative dialogue and exchange of ideas. This particular exhibition was a good opportunity for all of us to communicate our work, to share our concerns among creators, and also with the public. The exhibition had a very large attendance but unfortunately, it only lasted one day due to the first quarantine in March 2020. I hope that in the future there will be other such initiatives aimed at promoting Greek design, which is taking its first steps and seems very promising. I believe we will soon witness impressive things from Greek designers.

Rotonda Table, 2020, Forma | 1st Athens Creators Showcase at Romantso

What does the future hold for you and your creative plans?

Who knows? I hope that conditions will continue to allow me to teach pottery classes. It is something that I particularly love because it gives me the opportunity to meet interesting people and pass on the germ of ceramics to them. I would like to have more, beautiful collaborations like the one with Unprocessed Realities and Block 722 because they help me evolve in various ways. I would like to find teachers along the way to inspire me and push me to become better both as a ceramicist and as a person.

Many thanks to Stavros Perakis for his interesting answers

stavrosperakis.com