Mastery from the East

Steeped in traditional Korean ceramics technique, Marco Minetti creates a stunning, singular vase for VERANDA.

SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST FORMS harbor the deepest stories. Now based in Northern California, ceramic artist Marco Minetti spent almost five years in Korea pursuing the 14th–15th century pottery technique onggi, a painstaking coil and paddle method that uses a plant-infused glaze and is associated with large earthenware jars of the same name. “There are just a few people left who know how to make those vessels, and I learned from one of them,” says the artist of his apprenticeship with master potter Kwak Kyungtae, with whom he offers workshops in Korea and in the U.S. Inspired by onggi traditions, the sublime bottle-like vessel “is meant to bring serenity,” he notes. minettidesign.com