ALENA KOST
Ceramic artist based in Switzerland.
I work with clay as a carrier of memory.
My practice engages with fracture, stitching, loss and the long work of repair.
Through objects and installations I explore uprooting, migration of identity,
the disappearance of home — and the quiet persistence of life after it.
Cocoon
Through Cocoon, I explore a fragile, temporary state of transition.
The work reflects vulnerability and transformation, shaped by the loss of familiar internal and external supports.
Cocoon. Memory
Sculptural installation about memory, loss and rebuilding home.
Dreams
Dreams is a ceramic series exploring loss, memory, and the fragile boundary between reality and sleep.
Through sculptural forms, I ask whether those we lose truly disappear — or simply enter another state of being.
Shards
Fragments of old ceramics collected on the beaches of Taganrog.
Discarded, reshaped by waves, sand and time.
Each shard carries a fragile trace of memory.
Recursion N1
An installation structured around two symbols — the circle and the tilde.
Together, they form a closed system in which solitude endlessly reproduces itself, beyond space and time.
Porcelain. Series.
IPorcelain cups created through slip casting.The works are grouped into series,
where differences emerge through surface, color, and hand finishing.
Studio Workshops.
Small group ceramic workshops focused on material, process and working with care.
Open Studio
A quiet morning in the studio.
Drop by, see current works, talk, or simply spend time around clay.
A cocoon is my home, which I collect bit by bit in the hope of preserving what is left of it - memory.The year of the beginning of the Ukrainian war changed the lives of many people, including mine. Due to disagreement with the policy of my state, I left my country. Along with this, having lost not only my home, friends, workshop, I lost my identity.
In this work, I go deep inside myself to find it. To build new supports and a new life. This is my way of surviving loss.A cocoon is a protective shell that larvae surround themselves with when moving to a new stage of development.My cocoon is a transition to a new stage of my life, in which I also try to preserve my past experience, everything that is an integral part of myself and that is so easy to lose.In the process of work, I managed to send myself fragments of soil and clay in a parcel, which I carefully collected back home, in Taganrog. I didn't know then that one day I would have to leave.
I weave these fragments and materials into my cocoon in the hope of preserving the archeology of my memory.Cocoon 2025
Stoneware, soil fragments, thread.
In the body of work Dreams, initiated in 2021, I explore the nature of reality itself. This series of ceramic sculptures emerged from a deeply personal experience — the loss of a close person.I reflect on how, when the pain of loss becomes unbearable, we often repress it, shifting our emotions and переживания into the realm of dreams. This leads me to question: what if people do not truly leave, but instead sink into an eternal sleep? A world where the greatest secrets are kept and the deepest pain resides.The sleeping heads appear as portals — spaces where reality transforms, and what we call “the real” begins to feel like a mirage. During sleep, a person passes through different phases and states; knowledge inaccessible in waking life may reveal itself. Perhaps, in sleep, we live another life — one that is deeper, more intense.In this series, I use the spiral coil-building technique. Each new coil of clay represents another stage of descent into sleep.
The work is completed only after firing, which functions as a ritual of transition — a passage from our reality into a different world: the world of dreams.Dreams, 2021–2023
Ceramic sculptures, coil-built.
The series combines wood-fired works with ash glazes, salt-painted surfaces, and raw clay pieces.
Shards of old ceramics that I collected on the Taganrog beaches are broken dishes from different times, in which you can recognize a plate from your parents' house or a handle from your grandmother's cup.These shards have been tested by time: they were thrown into the trash, somehow this trash ended up on the beach, the waves of the bay beat this ceramics against the sand, walls and stones, some of it was carried away to the sea, and some was brought by the wave.Each shard can have its own story.These are shards of memory that slip away so quickly and I try to preserve everything that is somehow subject to destruction.Shards 2020
Hand-built ceramic objects.
Found shards, clay, porcelain and soil used as a surface layer.
The work is based on 2 symbols.
The circle is the perfection of form, the cyclicality of time, the cyclicality of space, and finally, infinity.
Tilde is a typographic sign with many meanings, which can work as a single symbol or in combination with other typographic signs.
Regardless of space and time, regardless of how far we have gone inside ourselves or outside, we are forever locked inside our loneliness.Recursion N1, 2019
Suspended ceramic construction. Stoneware, ash glazes.
Hand-built.
This work explores a state of transition — a temporary, unstable and fragile state of form.It is a state of vulnerability, overcoming and transformation — processes that take the ground away and dismantle familiar supports, both internal and external.Movement here is presented not as physical action, but as a change in internal structure under the influence of external circumstances and internal rethinking.Cocoon, 2025
Hand-built ceramic elements with visible stitching and an internal supporting structure.
Natural soil collected in Taganrog, Säntis, and Liechtensteig is applied to the surface as a material and conceptual layer.
GardenPorcelain, hand-painted, with gold.
The series explores the fragile balance between a utilitarian object and the poetic image of a garden — a space of quiet and inner presence.
CrushedPorcelain cups shaped through deliberate deformation.
The series explores pressure and form.Some pieces are fully glazed, while others are glazed on the inside and left bare on the outside.
All objects are unified by gold accents.
Some works from the porcelain cup series are available.
For details and inquiries, please contact me directly.
I offer small, carefully guided ceramic workshops in my studio in Lichtensteig.The workshops approach working with clay as an artistic process — focused on material, form, surface, and individual expression.They are open to adults, children, and families. No prior experience is required.
We work with hand-building techniques, allowing time for experimentation and attentive work with clay.The workshops take place in a calm, focused atmosphere and are personally accompanied.
Spring Studio ProgramThe Spring Studio Program is a series of small ceramic workshops dedicated to form, material, and the quiet pleasure of making objects by hand.Each workshop focuses on a specific theme — from sculptural vessels and table objects to ceramic light pieces and traditional outdoor firing. Participants work in a calm studio environment, exploring clay through intuitive hand-building techniques and guided experimentation.All workshops take place in a small group setting and are designed for both beginners and those who already have some experience with clay.The focus is not on technical perfection, but on discovering the expressive possibilities of the material and creating objects that feel personal and alive.
MARCHVessels for Spring Flowers22 March 2026
12:00 – 16:00
100 CHF / Person
Max. 5 participantsSpring is the moment when the first branches, flowers and wild plants slowly return into the house. In this workshop we create ceramic vessels designed to hold these seasonal moments.Participants build one or several vessels using hand-building techniques. The focus is on light, organic forms that feel natural and slightly imperfect — objects that belong to everyday life but carry a quiet sculptural presence.All materials and firing included.
APRILCeramic Wall Object / Mirror4 April 2026
12:00 – 15:00
120 CHF / Person
Max. 5 participantsIn this workshop participants create a sculptural wall object — with or without a mirror.The focus lies on texture, relief and form. The result can function as a mirror frame, a sculptural wall piece or an abstract ceramic object that becomes part of an interior.Mirror elements, materials and firing are included.
Serving Ceramics — Objects for the Table3 May 2026
12:00 – 14:30
70 CHF / Person
Max. 5 participantsObjects used at the table hold small rituals of sharing. In this workshop participants create functional ceramic pieces designed for everyday gatherings: plates, bowls or expressive serving forms.The aim is to combine functionality with character — simple forms that feel comfortable to use while still having a sculptural quality.All materials and firing included.
MAYCeramic Light Object16 May 2026
12:00 – 16:00
180 CHF / Person
Max. 5 participantsLight transforms space. In this workshop participants create a ceramic light object designed to bring warmth and atmosphere into an interior.Each participant builds a sculptural ceramic lamp base using hand-building techniques. The focus is on form, surface and the relationship between object and light.Lamp socket, cable and technical preparation are provided so participants can focus on the creative process.All materials and firing included.
JUNESummer Table Set7 June 2026
12:00 – 16:00
100 CHF / Person
Max. 5 participantsSummer invites slow gatherings around the table — water, wine, fruit and long evenings with friends.In this workshop participants create a small ceramic summer set consisting of three to four pieces, usually a pitcher combined with drinking cups or small vessels.The focus lies on proportion, usability and the tactile quality of handmade ceramics.All materials and firing included.
Pit Firing Experience21 / 27–28 June 2026
21 June – Building (12:00–17:00)
27 June – Pit firing (12:00–18:00)
28 June – Opening the pit (10:00–12:00)Weather backup: 4–5 July 2026280 CHF / Person
Max. 6 participantsPit firing is one of the oldest ceramic firing techniques and takes place outdoors in direct contact with fire, wood and natural materials.During the first meeting participants build their own ceramic vessels or sculptural objects. One week later the works are fired together in an open pit filled with wood and combustible materials. The following day the pit is opened and the pieces are revealed.Because the process is unpredictable, each object develops unique surfaces and colours created by the fire itself.Material, wood and firing are included.
Individual workshops are available upon request.
Open StudioThe studio is open for visits on selected mornings.
You are welcome to enter the space, encounter works in progress, and spend time within the working atmosphere.Upcoming dates09 February, 9–11 am
13 February, 9–11 am
27 February, 9–11 am
Individual visits can also be arranged upon request.