From memory:
TRADITION AND MODERNITY IN CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS
Curated by Tachy Mora
In this edition of interihotel, Craft Lab explores the new languages and formats emerging in contemporary ceramics through approaches rooted in heritage, memory and local context. These proposals not only create a connection between past and present, but also develop a formal expression capable of resonating globally while remaining firmly rooted in the local and the contemporary.
This trend brings together brands and creators working at the intersection of tradition, modernity, technology, design and experimentation, both in terms of production and concept. The result is a series of proposals with a strong identity and a clear connection to their origins, while remaining emotionally engaging and accessible from a global, contemporary perspective.
This connection is particularly relevant in the context of hotel and restaurant design. The pieces become vehicles for transmitting culture and heritage while also creating emotional connections through patterns, materials and techniques linked to our memory.
Craft Lab will showcase decorative, expressive and functional creations that demonstrate contemporary ceramics’ ability to move between design, experimentation, creativity and collaboration.
The space will symbolically recreate a hotel lobby and lounge area, incorporating wall compositions, large-format pieces, lighting and tableware to demonstrate how contemporary ceramics can help create distinctive environments with a strong identity, connected to the origins or essence of each project.
Participants
ARTESANÍA NO PRATO
A project promoted by Fundación Pública Artesanía de GaliciaSince 2013, Artesanía no Prato has fostered collaborations between Galician craftspeople and workshops and chefs from both Galicia and across Spain. These collaborations have resulted in unique pieces for gastronomic experiences and hospitality collections capable of enriching the sensory dimension of culinary creations and helping convey the narrative of both a gastronomic concept and its space.
Craft Lab will feature a selection of these collaborations, created by Susana Anta, Barreiros Artesanía, Laura Delgado, Alberto Lista, Paula Ojea and Witchneeds for chefs including Lucía Freitas, Miguel González, Javier Olleros and Pepe Solla, as well as the restaurants A Maceta and O Secadeiro.
BUIT VALENCIA
Ceramic products brandFounded by designer Xavier Lledó, Buit Valencia specialises in a new concept of ceramic surfaces with an artistic language. Drawing on Valencian ceramic tradition, its production combines art, architecture, design and craftsmanship, enhancing both the aesthetic value and the three-dimensional character of its pieces.
At Craft Lab, Buit Valencia will present a large-scale mural created using its Yperfectas collection, designed by Cual Estudio, which appears to gradually disappear in certain areas, as though evaporating.
NURIA BLANCO
Artist working with hand-painted ceramicsNuria Blanco uses ceramics as her medium, drawing freehand in much the same way tiles have traditionally been painted. Through this technique, she creates tableware featuring exuberant illustrations for restaurants, as well as wall compositions in which a drawing may begin on one piece and continue across others until it is revealed as a single image.
For Craft Lab, she has created Banquete, a mural composed of 36 hand-painted ceramic plates which, although displayed on the wall, can also be removed and used.
CERÁMICA A MANO ALZADA
Ceramic products brandMiguel Bartolomé and Cristina Serrano lead this studio specialising in the creation of bespoke ceramic products for architectural projects.
At Craft Lab, they will present their contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional ceramic screen, using patterns of interlocking diamonds and triangles. Traditionally assembled manually, brick by brick, the pattern has been transformed into a pre-assembled stoneware module that simplifies installation while offering high resistance for outdoor use.
ANIANA HERAS
Contemporary ceramicistAniana Heras’ work combines sculpture, design and a making process grounded in the tools and knowledge of traditional craft. Her pieces feature a strong graphic character, highly architectural structures and a distinctly futuristic appearance.
Working with the potter’s wheel, coils and slabs, she reinterprets some of the virtuoso techniques of traditional pottery. At Craft Lab, she will present a mural created with coils in dialogue with a selection of her decorative pieces.
POTT PROJECT
Brand specialising in handcrafted ceramic lightingFounded by Miguel Ángel García Belmonte, Pott Project is rooted in Totana, a town in Murcia where pottery forms part of both the landscape and collective memory.
Its pieces approach ceramics from a contemporary perspective, exploring the dialogue between material, craft and light. Different areas of Craft Lab will be illuminated with its Caló, Conic, Nais, Okina and Totana models.
RISCO ESTUDIO
Pablo Rodríguez, ceramicist and industrial designerPablo Rodríguez’s work stems from his family ties to the traditional pottery of Buño, in Galicia. His pieces draw inspiration from the essence of Galician pottery, using it as a starting point for innovation while establishing a formal and craft-based connection aimed at preserving the memory and cultural identity of his territory.
His murals, lamps and large-format pieces bring together art, design and craftsmanship and are conceived specifically for interior design. At Craft Lab, he will present one of his wall sculptures alongside lighting pieces and large-format works.
TODOBARRO
Terracotta surfaces brandFounded by Pedro Rosa, todobarro is a Málaga-based company whose model combines tradition and innovation: handcrafted production in Nasrid kilns alongside contemporary design collections inspired by the cultural heritage of its region.
For Craft Lab, Leblume studio has created a large-scale three-dimensional mural using the Vélez collection, demonstrating the compositional versatility of these pieces beyond their traditional application as flooring and wall coverings.
Curated by
Tachy Mora is a journalist and independent exhibition curator specialising in design, architecture, craftsmanship and the hybrid forms and interactions between these disciplines and others. She has worked as a cultural journalist since 1998 and is a regular contributor to the Sunday magazine of El País and to Icon Design.
In 2011, she published the book Artesanía Española de Vanguardia (Lunwerg), which was later developed into an internationally touring exhibition. Among other projects, she has curated Escenarios de un Futuro Cercano for Centre del Carme in Valencia and the retrospective Héctor Serrano: El viaje entremedias, presented in 2025 at Central de Diseño, Matadero Madrid, and at Feria Hábitat Valencia.
She combines her journalistic and curatorial work with brand consultancy, specialising in narrative and storytelling.
