Capturing motion in a still object is no easy feat, but in her latest Kinetic collection, Olivia Cognet manages to do just that. Through bold forms and rhythmic repetition, her sculptural ceramics evoke a sense of continuous movement. Each piece pulses with graphic energy, light, and shadow, as if caught mid-gesture. Inspired by the visual language of kinetic art, the collection transforms static surfaces into dynamic compositions that change with every glance.
Raised in Nice on the Côte d’Azur and trained at the Villa Arson, Cognet draws from the rich legacy of the Vallauris masters: Picasso, Capron, and others who blurred the line between fine art and functional form. For the Kinetic collection, that lineage expands to include the visual poetry of Alexander Calder, Jesús Rafael Soto, Victor Vasarely, and Carlos Cruz-Diez. Their explorations of movement, rhythm, and optical illusion echo through Cognet’s work, where form becomes a medium for motion, and shadow extends the sculpture beyond its own edges.
Each work begins on paper, with Cognet sketching her ideas in two dimensions before shaping them by hand. She works primarily in stoneware using three natural clay tones, embracing the contrast between minimalist, geometric lines and a more natural, organic expression.
The collection spans a small range of objects – vase, wall sconce, chandelier – each infused with the same sense of visual rhythm. In the pendant light, tiered ceramic forms stack like a totem of soft geometry, perforated with light that spills through in delicate patterns. The sconce and vases echo this layered language, creating silhouettes that feel simultaneously architectural and organic. In every piece, form becomes a medium for motion, and shadow extends the sculpture beyond its own edges.
Cognet’s work in the Kinetic collection is a reminder that movement doesn’t always require motion. Sometimes, it’s the subtle interplay of shape and shadow that can bring an object to life.
To learn more about the Kinetic collection by Olivia Cognet, visit oliviacognet.com.
Photography courtesy of Olivia Cognet.
