Concrete-Look Porcelain Vases Turn Shelves Into Tiny Skylines

Porcelain cast with black grog and ceramic pigments is doing the work of concrete in Aleksander Kozera's Neo-Brutalist Vases, a collection selected for the make me! 2026 exhibition at Łódź Design Festival. The vessels are physical ceramic works, not render-only concepts. That festival listing, however, does not establish retail pricing or availability, so treat it as recognition rather than a confirmed shopping announcement.

Who made them, and how?

Kozera produces the collection under Yird Ceramics, his Warsaw-based brand. His process starts with digital modeling, then 3D-printed master forms, which are used to make plaster molds for slip-casting porcelain (slip-casting: pouring liquid clay into a mold to form a hollow vessel). Digital tools establish the geometry. Casting translates it into ceramic. Workshop photographs show shaped components and molds alongside vessels at different production stages — a useful distinction for anyone assuming these are printed plastic objects.

What does the material finish change?

According to the collection's Łódź Design Festival description, Kozera uses porcelain casting slip with ceramic pigments and black grog (ground fired clay added for texture) to produce a raw, concrete-like finish. Dark speckles break up the gray surface in close-up photographs. That texture matters: without it, the panel lines and repeated circles could read as smooth plastic props. The description also specifies a translucent green glaze, with small exterior "windows" individually glazed by hand. The green stays restrained — the pieces still read predominantly as gray architectural objects, and the small glazed areas give the eye somewhere to pause without competing with the speckled body.

What do the vessels actually look like?

Cylindrical bodies are divided into rectangular panels, with tiny indentations that suggest construction details on a concrete facade. Circular recesses interrupt that grid. Curved projections extend from the sides like abbreviated balconies or exposed joints. The effect lands somewhere between an architectural model and science-fiction set dressing.

The modular approach adds depth. The festival describes vessels that can be combined and arranged into larger compositions; in photographs, neighboring forms create narrow gaps, overlapping projections and changing silhouettes. Turn one vessel, and the relationship between grid, recess and projection changes — a reason for the object to stay on display even after the stems are gone.

Where should they live?

These are visually busy objects despite the limited palette. On a shelf crowded with books, collectibles and patterned ceramics, the small recesses and projecting edges could get lost. A clear stretch of console or a plain wall behind a grouped arrangement gives the silhouette room to read.

Flowers change the balance considerably. Branching stems disrupt the disciplined horizontal and vertical lines. A sparse arrangement keeps the ceramic visible; a dense supermarket bouquet might conceal the detail that makes the vessels worth looking at. A few irregular branches would let the architecture and the plant material each breathe.

The make me! selection puts Kozera's work in front of Łódź Design Festival's 2026 audience — the likeliest first stop for anyone wanting to see, or eventually buy, the collection.