Origami-inspired ceramics bring algorithm and artistry together

The Japanese art of origami has been a significant source of inspiration for a lot of product designers as it provides solutions for creating dynamic, compact, and adaptable products that can transform from flat sheets into complex 3D structures. The folding techniques and look offer advantages like space-efficiency, portability, and reconfigurability, making them valuable for various applications, no matter what your product design is.

Mark Goudy’s Origami series is a crystalline fusion of technical precision and poetic abstraction. These porcelain sculptures seem folded from paper yet are born of code and clay. Rooted in the elegant simplicity of Japanese origami, these pieces are not mere imitations: they embody Goudy’s belief in “minimal forms with hidden complexity. He uses algorithmic design to generate intricate folds, including creases shaped with elliptic, parabolic, sine and cosine curves.

Designer: Mark Goudy

From these digital files he is able to 3D-print mother moulds, then he crafts plaster casts and slip-casts porcelain and then he sands each piece meticulously by hand. Many of these pieces rock gently on their folds as they naturally set into their point of equilibrium. The forms are slip-cast in thin, translucent white or black porcelain, creating a tactile, paper-thin effect that captures light and shadow.

Goudy then applies metallic salt watercolors like gold, cobalt, chromium, directly on bisqueware. The salts seep into the clay, shading the edges and folds in delicate hues from red to cobalt blue which is a nod to “water and distance.” The designer has a background in biology, lab chemistry, music, and engineering which he sometimes incorporates in his designs. His pieces evoke natural landscapes: dunes, waves, snow-laden lanterns. The Origami series, particularly, conjure winter’s crisp air and delicate candlelight, translating logic and geometry into visual poetry.

Mark Goudy stands out as a rare artist who blends engineering, chemistry, and ceramics into a coherent, expressive practice. His Origami series exemplifies this synergy, where mathematics gives way to meditation, and porcelain becomes paper, landscape, and lantern all at once. Each sculpture is a container for light, atmosphere, and mindful stillness, inviting viewers to pause and reflect. The precision of digital design meets the unpredictability of firing and glazing, creating a dynamic tension between control and chance. Through these delicate forms, Goudy not only reinterprets the ancient art of origami but also pushes the boundaries of what porcelain can convey, transforming it into a medium of quiet power and contemplative beauty.