‘The cloister of clay’ is the term by which many people throughout the world, among them eminent, authoritative ceramic artists, fondly refer to the International Ceramics Studio, founded in Kecskemét nearly a generation ago. The life and work of the studio in the period 1968–2012 coincided with – and exercised a considerable influence on – the ‘renaissance’ of modern Hungarian ceramic art.
Located in the heart of the city, the studio complex was perfectly suited to retreat. Surrounded by high walls and buildings, and with inner courtyards, residential ‘cells’, a lecture hall and large, divisible studios, it bore an unmistakeable resemblance to a monastery and had a philosophy to suit. Everything and everybody there, from the very beginning, worked freely, without controls, dedicated to finding and opening up the way forward for ceramic art.
The ICS was the first of its kind in Hungary, and indeed in the world, a continuously operating ceramics colony which constantly kept pace with technology. Its establishment was a unique act of artistic
patronage by the then leadership of Bács-Kiskun County. The trust they invested in the studio has been repaid since then by the accumulation of an international collection – and an international reputation. An exhibition featuring work from that collection and bearing the title Art from the cloister of clay would be in place anywhere in the world.
Since 2012, the studio is ran and operated by the town of Kecskemét, as part of the Contemporary Art Studios.