This month we celebrate the launch of The Feast, Kristen McGinnis’s new dinner party collection—a DM/BX exclusive—featuring newly commissioned works by a talented set of creative studios. In honor of the occasion, we made a date with one of The Feast’s collaborators, in-demand ceramic artist Jeremy Anderson.

Anderson is a familiar face in the design world, thanks to his role as cofounder of the ever-so-hip furniture and lighting studio Apparatus, which he began nearly a decade ago with partner, Gabriel Hendifar. In 2020, Anderson debuted his first collection of ceramics—striking, anthropomorphic creatures he refers to as Piccolos. Each piece is hand-assembled from wheel-thrown elements and then hand-painted. The forms are inspired in part by midcentury photos by German duo Bernd and Hilla Becher depicting water towers and other industrial structures. Anderson likens the pieces to characters from a “fantasy world.” For The Feast, he’s created a new variation, the Piccolo Bowls, as well as a set of celadon-hued dinnerware to add equal servings of charm and elegance to any table.

We sat down with Anderson to learn more about his new work—and to get his current take on the dream dinner party.

Design Miami/What was the specific inspiration behind the pieces you’ve created for the new “Feast” collection?

Jeremy Anderson/I wanted to create something that showcased the humble material of clay and juxtapose it against something luxurious. When Kristen and I were selecting glaze colors we landed on options that are rich and saturated and fire with subtle, unexpected variations. It was really about letting the glaze be the canvas and framing it with the lustre detail and stripping on the bowls, a motif that is a centerpiece in my clay practice.

DM/How would you describe the personalities of these particular Piccolos?

JA/The Piccolo bowls feel like ancient relics. They have a grounded, stoic stature.

DM/Please tell us a bit about the environment in which you work.

JA/My clay studio is in the Hudson Valley in New York, where I’m surrounded by nature. When I’m in the city, I work from a community clay studio, and I also have a work table in my Soho loft. The work moves around with me, so I feel very connected to each piece.

DM/Describe your making process.

JA/The pieces are simple in their design, yet very labor intensive. I work at the potter’s wheel. My pieces are not created in molds, so there will always be subtle variations in a set. The combination of raw clay, glaze, and lustre in the final pieces requires me to use wax resists over the painted lines and areas where I want the clay body to show. Every piece is fired in the kiln three times.

DM/Beyond this particular collection, where do you find inspiration generally for your ceramic work?

JA/My inspiration comes from everywhere; nature, architecture, art, people, and different cultures. I want to expose myself to the world and absorb what I’m seeing. I think all of that is part of my creative process and how I find inspiration.

DM/How would you describe the connective thread running throughout your work more broadly?

JA/I really think about how my pieces interact with each other. They have become characters to me, so I want to play with different proportions and decorations and highlight the beauty in their differences, yet [their] being similar enough to coexist harmoniously. It’s my fantasy world.

DM/After the isolation of the past several months, we’re all eager to reconnect. When you think of a dream dinner party these days, what comes to your mind?

JA/A 10:00 PM dinner somewhere in the Balearic Islands under a big juniper tree with friends after a lazy day at the beach. ◆