Design Statement

The focus of my work includes installations, sculptures, photography and everyday objects. I therefore move between art and design. Ceramic for use becomes art and art becomes everyday objects. 

Many of my objects can be used, whereby it is important to me that the touch is as important as the aesthetic. If the objects are relieved of its function, the possible touch passes into the notion. Random and unexpected connections are found in my work, allowing one's own stories and thoughts to continue to be woven. Through the use of abstraction, I emphasize the conscious process of composition that lies behind the seemingly random form. 

I am fascinated by how everyday objects through size and material changes can get a completely different effect and statement. By experimenting with the arrangement of different but sometimes serial objects, I often create works with open result, which at first glance seems random but it is not in fact. Different rules apply than in everyday life and even everyday objects undergo a transformation.

An important source of inspiration for me is water and wind, the constant change, the unexplainable and the vagaries of the weather. So also the random factor has a fixed place in my artistic practice and I try to make errors not to be an enemy but to be a friend.

Short Biography

Nadia Graf (*1972) studied art education and computer art in Zurich and New York. Her artistic work has evolved from photography to moving images and further to interactive installations. Coincidence, remembering and forgetting in a digital society are topics she has repeatedly dealt with. In the meantime, analogue techniques have moved back into her focus: ceramics, screen-printing and fanzine are subjects she is working on. She is a Professor in Fine Arts at the Zurich University of the Arts. For 10 years, she was head of the Bachelor’s programme in Fine Arts.

Made in Zurich

n_ceramics is proud to be part of the «Made in Zürich» label – an initiative dedicated to bringing production back to the heart of the city. Zurich is undergoing change: while retail spaces are disappearing and office buildings remain empty, new opportunities for local value creation are emerging. Production itself is being redefined. Digitalization and automation now make decentralized, compact manufacturing possible – right in the city, closer to people and their everyday lives. At the same time, craftsmanship is experiencing a renaissance: it makes products tangible, gives them character, and places the act of making at the center of the experience. In this context, urban production is gaining growing relevance – ecologically, socially, and culturally. The «Made in Zürich» initiative brings together makers from a wide range of fields – from fashion and furniture to cosmetics, food, high-tech, and industry – united under a label that stands for quality, locality, and innovation.