Get to Know Tav Ceramics, Made by an East Vancouver-Based Artist
Tanvi Arora's reverence for clay makes her work a natural draw.
“I’ve always tried to make clay the hero element of my pieces,” says Tanvi Arora, founder of East Vancouver’s Tav Ceramics. Arora’s reverence for clay makes her work a natural draw for purists. Ceramic forms exhibit earthy textures, mostly with minimal glazing and monotone palettes, emphasizing the feel of her source material. Consider The X Collection, her latest debut that spans lamps, sconces, and vases, and whether wheel thrown or moulded, her organic forms may be functional, but above all they are sculptural.
Arora first imagines the environment each object will live in and builds accordingly. From commissioned installations to tabletop objects, her pieces tend to stand autonomously in space. A new table lamp, Manara, is a tall pedestal inspired by historic Arab forts and lighthouses, nodding to her upbringing in the Middle East. Tanvi’s Pearl sconce is a porcelain shell that casts an almost ethereal glow that carves the surface, highlighting the material’s delicate strength. Monolith is a set of stacking vases that conjure light in a different way: stacked in a pit alongside combustibles, pieces burn for up to 24 hours.
