On the French Riviera, a generation of artists is shaping clay as a form of artistic expression. Heirs to a sun-drenched region where Picasso, Capron, and Léger restored ceramics to its former glory, these creators are now reinventing technique, material, and light. Between Nice, Vallauris, and Saint-Paul-de-Vence, they are breathing contemporary and poetic energy into this ancestral art, at the crossroads of design, architecture, and sculpture.
Léa Ginac: when design dreams of eternity
At Léa Ginac, objects tell a story, one of heritage and emotion. The daughter of an antique dealer, she grew up surrounded by antique pieces and fine materials. “My love of objects is my language. What I do today is a way of continuing what my father passed on to me.”
At the age of 23, she presented her first collection of furniture and objects, and since then, her work has made its mark in galleries and interiors around the world. She creates for the Galerie Scène Ouverte in Paris, participates in major international fairs such as Art Basel, and develops limited series of lighting, furniture, and sculptures under her own name. Plaster, wood, marble, stone, aluminum, or ceramic: Léa explores materials and textures without boundaries, always seeking a balance between strength and delicacy.
Represented by Chiara Colombini, she collaborates with numerous architects and interior designers, particularly on projects for hotels and public spaces. She has designed furniture for Terminal 2B at Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, in an area conceived by architect Nathalie Craps, as well as wall lights for the Sofitel in Rabat.
“It all came together slowly, naturally. I work with love, surrounded by exceptional artisans — ceramists in Italy, plasterers and ironworkers in Nice — those magical hands without whom none of this would be possible.”
In Nice, she recently designed the interior of the upstairs suite at the Trésors Publics boutique, transforming it into a marine sanctuary: an immaculate bed crowned with an antique face and surrounded by a constellation of ceramic shells, a veritable mythological altar dedicated to the sea and infinite beauty. Léa designed limited-edition wall lights, pendant lights, pots, and flower holders, imbued with an antique and modern sculptural poetry.
“My motivation is to create contemporary yet timeless objects that will stand the test of time. I want my pieces to retain their soul and presence.”
Maxime Siau: the memory of objects
At thirty-two years old, Maxime Siau has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary ceramics. Trained in France and Los Angeles, where he worked as a restorer and then a street artist, he chose porcelain for its fragility and delicacy, which he boldly reinterprets in creations that are both poetic and critical.
Before devoting himself to art, he led several lives: R&D consultant in Paris for major brands, then restaurant manager in Los Angeles. From these experiences, he retains a lucidity about consumer society and an ecological awareness that now permeate his work. A graduate and valedictorian in art and product design in Nice, he trained in sculpture and molding with artist and foundryman Stéphane Cipre before completing a residency in Monaco in 2021.
His “Made in China” collection revealed his world: that of an artist who revisits iconic everyday objects — game controllers, cameras, sneakers — through the ancestral craft of porcelain, enriched with motifs inspired by toile de Jouy, a symbol of a certain French art de vivre. “I try to imagine how our objects today might have been made six hundred years ago.”
A nod to the Ming dynasty, this series questions our memories of customs and the mark left by humans on Earth. Finely hand-painted and covered with delicate enamels, his sculptures combine irony and elegance, evoking beauty, fragility, and the passing of time. His work, exhibited at GCA Gallery (Nice and Paris), Galerie 2M (Saint-Paul-de-Vence) and Deodato Arte galleries in Italy, is now exploring new horizons. The artist incorporates wood and metal into his new works, dreaming of monumental sculptures that combine raw materials and environmental awareness.
“What inspires me is the mark humans leave on Earth, what we leave behind,” he says. Inspired by the Mediterranean, its deep blue waters and changing light, he is currently preparing a new exhibition for spring 2026, while continuing a series of lithographs inspired by sunsets photographed in Beausoleil before the birth of his daughter. It is an intimate and poetic way of celebrating life, transmission, and suspended time.
Live performance in Milan in December 2025 at Deodatto Arte Gallery
Olivia Cognet: the architecture of gesture
A former fashion designer, Olivia Cognet traded leather for clay, bags and shoes for sculptures. It was a bold move, guided by the same guiding principle: material, movement, and light. “I couldn't sit behind a desk anymore. I needed to work with my hands, to feel the material.”
Trained at Villa Arson in Nice and with a BTS degree in fashion, she started her career at Jean-Charles de Castelbajac before collaborating with Sonia Rykiel, Carven, Mugler, Lanvin, Stéphane Kélian, and Alber Elbaz. It was a dazzling career path at major fashion houses, but one that was increasingly constrained by marketing. “Creation was reduced to commerce. I loved fashion, but I had lost my sense of purpose.”
In 2016, while living in Los Angeles, she discovered ceramics almost by chance. "I was craving a manual activity. I took a class and knew immediately that I had found my calling. It was magical: being able to create an object from scratch, with almost nothing."
A passionate self-taught artist, she set up her first studio in her garage, presented her work at a trendy fair in Silver Lake, and sold everything in three days. Californian interior designers quickly spotted her and commissioned her to create custom pieces.
Her style? Sensitive power. Monumental bas-reliefs, sculptural lamps, totems, and architectural objects are born from her hands, combining strength and gentleness. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi, and Californian modernism, she explores the dialogue between light and shadow, matter and emotion. “Ceramics is the architecture of gesture.”
Returning to France in 2022, she set up her studio in Vallauris, the cradle of modern ceramics. “I discovered incredible craftsmanship, that of the potters who worked with Capron and Picasso. Here, everything exudes excellence in craftsmanship.” Surrounded by a team of ceramists, ironworkers, and plasterers, she is now developing monumental work that straddles the boundary between art and design.
Her collaborations are multiplying: Fendi (for whom she created the bas-reliefs in the Amsterdam and London boutiques), Hermès, Dior, and even New York designer Ulla Johnson. Her works travel from Paris to Los Angeles, between galleries and architectural projects, without ever losing the raw sensuality that is her signature style.
Until October 31, the Olivia Cognet Gallery is setting up shop at Mareterra Monaco, where it is exhibiting several iconic pieces in a vibrant dialogue with the azure light. In spring 2026, it will move to Dragon Hill, in the heart of the legendary Villa Jacques Couëlle, for a residency and exhibition combining design, sculpture, and monumental art, before a solo show in Brussels later that year.
“What excites me are large pieces, ones that interact with their surroundings. I'd like to go even further: to imagine facades, forecourts, and sculptures on the scale of a building.”
Upcoming residency & exhibition — Dragon Hill, Villa Jacques Couëlle @dragonhillresidence and Solo show in Brussels.
Lisa Cousin: the earth as a link
In her bright studio in Nice, Lisa Cousin turns ceramics into an art of sharing. Trained at the Villa Arson School of Fine Arts and the Paris School of Decorative Arts, this former theater set designer — who worked for Jean-Pierre Laporte at the TNN and Anthéa for many years — opened a 30 m² studio in 2020 dedicated to creation and teaching. “Ceramics is the only activity where I feel completely at peace. Time stands still.”
Between group classes and custom pieces, Lisa shares her love of craftsmanship and materials. "What I love about teaching is thinking things through with my students, even beginners. I feel like I'm contributing a little something to their creations." Her world, both raw and sensitive, is expressed in functional creations: vases, plates, bowls, and lamps, all handmade, where every irregularity becomes a signature.
His bespoke creations already adorn many establishments in Nice, including Bocca Nissa, Maïdo, Banh Meï, Marriott, and La Cantine de Mémé, which have been won over by their authentic craftsmanship.
Cover photo © Vincent and Thérèse
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