Exhibitions
Navarrete transformed ceramics into a space for creation, memory, and reflection.
The Riojan town of Navarrete once again asserted its historic pottery tradition with the celebration of the XVIII National Pottery and Ceramics Fair (NACE), an edition that stood out for its international dimension, the breadth of its exhibition program and the presence of the renowned Catalan ceramist Madola as a guest artist.
Over three days, the fair brought together 37 exhibitors from Spain, France, and Portugal, showcasing the richness and diversity of contemporary ceramic creation, from traditional techniques to the most experimental proposals. The event thus confirmed its position as one of the leading gatherings dedicated to pottery and ceramics on the Iberian Peninsula.
The program featured the largest exhibition offering in NACE's history, with six exhibitions spread across different venues in the municipality. Among them, "Building Thoughts with Clay ," the exhibition by Madola—the artistic name of Maria Àngels Domingo—stood out, conceived as a journey through the social and environmental concerns that permeate her artistic production.
The exhibition occupies five rooms in the Navarrete Town Hall, organized around different thematic axes: buildings and pollution, books, opera, the sea and migration, and the mountains, also linked to the environmental crisis. Through her large-format ceramic sculptures, the artist proposed a reflection on some of the great contemporary challenges, using clay as a tool for thought and engagement.
Coinciding with the fair, Madola also gave a lecture in which she shared her career path and her approach to artistic creation. The ceramicist argued that her work aims to spark reflection in the viewer and generate a critical perspective on issues such as migration and environmental degradation. While acknowledging that art alone cannot transform society, she maintained that it does have the capacity to invite dialogue, question certain realities, and open spaces for collective reflection.
The artist explained that each viewer interprets her pieces from their own experience, which makes ceramics an open language capable of eliciting different readings without renouncing a clear stance on the problems of the present.
The fair was also marked by the inauguration of the new Navarrete Pottery Interpretation Center, a facility dedicated to preserving and promoting the town's pottery heritage. Its opening reinforced Navarrete's role as a leading center for artisanal ceramics in Spain and highlighted a heritage that forms part of the municipality's historical identity.
The organizers highlighted NACE's prestigious reputation both domestically and internationally, as well as the value of having a figure of Madola's stature as a guest artist. Her participation was considered one of the highlights of this edition, both for the quality of the exhibition and for her work's ability to connect ceramic tradition with the major social and cultural debates of our time.
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