Anastasia Babenko Cacao Vessel
Brown stoneware, honeycomb-textured unglazed exterior
10.5" × 13.5"
AVAILABLE FOR BERKELEY, CA PICK UP ONLY. Please contact us at shop@ericatanov.com to coordinate pickup.
All fine art sales are final.
About Anastasia Babenko
Anastasia Babenko is a ceramic artist in the San Francisco Bay Area making hand-built sculptural vessels in stoneware — no wheel, no molds; every form coiled by hand.
She discovered clay in 2021, and through clay found her practice. Each vessel explores an individual journey — how a life is shaped by time and experience. In many pieces, that journey leads to womanhood — vessels that become women, strong and graceful at once. No two are ever repeated.
Her work brings a grounding, organic presence to contemporary interiors, and is held in private collections across the United States and in England.
Artist Statement
My ceramic work centers on two themes: nature and the experience of the individual. I'm drawn to natural textures and flowing, organic forms, which guide the surfaces and shapes of my pieces. At the same time, I reflect on the life of a single person, and how individuality is shaped through time and experience. While ceramic objects may exist as part of a group, each piece holds its own presence and character — in this way, my vessels parallel the individuality of a person, each carrying traces of its own journey.
Clay feels like a natural extension of these ideas. As a material that comes directly from the earth, it carries the textures and qualities of the natural world; it responds to touch, pressure, and movement, allowing forms to develop in an organic way. I create vases, vessels, and wall sculptures, each hand-built by coiling. Surface and form develop through the process, allowing imperfections, textures, and natural clay finishes to remain visible, emphasizing the raw, tactile surface of the material. My work reveals itself through close viewing — entering a space as both vessel and sculpture, interacting with its surroundings through its material presence.
