UCCA Clay Museum will present the exhibition “Raw Modernism: Accolay Clay Today” from July 18 to October 18, 2026. Centered on the ceramics of Accolay, France, from the late 1940s to the late 1980s, the exhibition places this historical body of work in dialogue with contemporary artistic practices from diverse cultural contexts. By revisiting the spirit of creative freedom embodied in Accolay ceramics and its continuing influence on contemporary ceramic art, the exhibition invites audiences to consider the experimental possibilities of ceramics across the fields of art, craft, and design.

On July 19, exhibiting artist Rena Kudoh will give an artist talk and lead a ceramic workshop at UCCA. Kudoh’s ceramic sculptures often feature chimera-like figures that merge human and animal characteristics, such as animals with human faces, bodies with unusually elongated limbs, and facial features rendered in a childlike, doodle-like style. In this workshop, participants will be encouraged to move beyond conventional ways of working with clay by using their bodies instead of their hands to shape the material, creating their own chimera figures while exploring clay’s malleability and the unique ways it responds to bodily movement. No prior experience with ceramics is required— all are welcome to join this playful and engaging creative experience.