Background
Born in Beirut in 1970, Hala Matta is an accomplished ceramist with an eclectic career path. After a master’s degree in banking and finance at the Sorbonne in Paris, she spent twenty years working first in banking and then joining Louis Vuitton as head of marketing for the Middle East and India. She then left the corporate world and went to train in the studio of master ceramicists Nathalie Khayat and Nevil Salha. attending several advanced workshops in Europe, and assisting ceramicist Samar Mogharbel at LAU, Hala is a firm believer in developing local craftsmanship and vernacular artistic productions. She lives and works in Beirut, where she opened her own studio in 2015.
Signature Style
“My style is often a combination of culture, travel and personal taste,” says Hala. “I am attracted to simple forms, and my inspiration comes from the communicative power and beauty of nature combined with the spontaneity of the pottery making process itself.” Favoring Raku, the ancient Japanese firing technique that lends each piece a distinctive quality, she started making functional objects such as vases and bowls, and then moving on to more artistic designs and decorative objects that combine the talent of the potter and that of the sculptor. Her works, from decorative wall panels to glazed totem-like sculptures, are standalone creations showcased in art galleries.
Showstoppers
Decorative wall panels, sculptural elements, colourful glazed stoneware totem poles with clean lines, one-of-a-kind vessels… her artworks reach a universal dimension that reconnect with the centuries-old Middle Eastern pottery tradition revisited in a very personal, contemporary style.
