Rino Claessens

Rino Claessens (born 1994) works from his atelier in Eindhoven, where material experiments form the starting point for each object he makes. A graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven's Public & Private department, he developed a methodology grounded in process: what happens in the workshop determines what the piece becomes.

Ceramics is his primary medium. Claessens is drawn to its tactile qualities and its long history, and his approach is to carry that history forward rather than reproduce it. His work is contemporary ceramic art informed by traditional craft, not constrained by it. Each experiment feeds the next, and the objects carry the marks of their making: surface variations, traces of the kiln, the intentional imprecision of handwork.

Alongside ceramics, Claessens works with cast bronze and carved wood. These are parallel investigations into how different materials respond to the same gestures. A ceramic and a bronze piece made from the same starting point yield entirely different objects; that divergence is where the work becomes interesting. Weight, surface behavior, density: each material makes its own demands on the process.

His collectible ceramic and bronze objects are available on Monde Singulier, where his work is presented alongside designers exploring the intersection of Dutch craft traditions and contemporary collectible design.