To be a ceramicist is to be something of an alchemist or mad scientist: navigating the controlled chaos of the fiery kiln, the fluctuating moisture in the air, the fickle chemistry of glazes. It is also to be a somatic worker: lifting, pushing, pressing; working heavy masses of clay by hand to draw out form and perspective. For Ren von Hasseln, the practice of ceramics lives at this intersection: an experimental yet rigorous discipline that pushes the boundaries of scale and embraces the visible artifacts of making.
Before founding @renceramics_ , von Hasseln trained in architecture, and earlier still, biology. She began a PhD in molecular genetics before realizing that she was more drawn to the beauty of the images emerging from the electron microscope than to the data they contained. Architecture and science are exacting disciplines, grounded in precision and long timelines. Ceramics offered her a way to work iteratively and autonomously; to test, respond, and even surrender to imperfection.
Von Hasseln’s oversized vessels and sculptural forms carry an unmistakably organic presence, with a distinctly Brutalist streak. Built entirely by hand, her pieces foreground process and material: linear vertical textures formed by thumb-joined coils, subtle warping, surface irregularities that remain visible. “Instead of smoothing out these marks, I refine and highlight them,” she explains. For von Hasseln, these are not flaws to be corrected or hidden, but records of touch and impulse, material evidence of the journey a piece has taken…
continued on page 20 of Issue 05
✍️: @danamolly
📷: @cynthia.ammann
read the full interview in print by subscribing at thepanafold.com 🏺
LANCEMENT DU LIVRE | BOOK LAUNCH
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à nous rejoindre pour célébrer le lancement de notre livre, le vendredi 13 mars, à @unionjeunesseinternationale , à Barbès.
We are delighted to invite you to join us and celebrate the launch of our book on Friday, March 13, @unionjeunesseinternationale in Barbès.
5PM—11PM
Nourriture/Food
@phamilyfirst w/ Priscilla Trâm @tramtramtramtramtram & Anthony Nguyen @_antho_ng
Vin/Wine
Tyalo Tyalo @tyalotyalo
Musique/Music
Cyn @sea2sea.co / Not Today @nottooooooday
Avec des contributions de / With contributions from
Huy Linh Dao, Caroline Bich-Lien Herbelin, Thi Hai Nguyen, Trong Dat Nguyen, Éric Panthou, Kiersten Thamm, Quang Anh Trần, Vincent Yuen Ruiz, Thái Hà Vu @beansoupe , Philippe Truong
Photographie / Photography
Cynthia Mai Ammann @cynthia.ammann , Mắt Bét @mat.bet , Kai Nguyen @unowhatswrong
Design graphique / Graphic design
Office for Typography @chillllllllll
Équipe de recherche / Research team
Lưu Chữ @luuchuvietnam , Tien Dat Vu @foto_muses , Ostin Fam, Nhat Thanh Le @thanhle___thanhle , Xuan-Ha Nguyen Vu @grandmadeadxh
Publié par/Published by
ECAL @ecal_ch & Triest Verlag @triestverlag
Alors que Quang Vinh et Émilie ont passé leur enfance à penser que leurs parents avaient une façon singulière de prononcer certains mots français avec un accent vietnamien bien à eux, ils découvrent en grandissant qu’il n’en est rien. Cà phê phin (café filtre), atisô (artichaut), xi nê ma (cinema), căng tin (cantine), xi-măng (ciment), ghế tô nê (chaise Thonet) : dans la langue vietnamienne, nombreux sont les mots à porter en eux l’empreinte d’une origine française. Et s’il en était de même pour les objets de la vie quotidienne ? Objets vietnamiens est un projet de recherche qui analyse la production d’objets au Vietnam à l’aune de la colonisation et de la décolonisation françaises.
« Objets vietnamiens. Culture matérielle d’une résilience face à la (dé)colonisation » vient de sortir aux éditions Triest Verlag, copublié par l’ECAL.
Co-auteur.rices : Quang Vinh Nguyen et Émilie Laystary
Photographie: Cynthia Mai Ammann avec des contributions de Mắt Bét, Kai Nguyễn et Théa Giglio
Graphisme : Chi-Long Trieu
Lancement prévu à Paris en mars 2026.
Quang Vinh and Émilie spent their childhood thinking that their parents had a peculiar way of pronouncing certain French words with their distinctive Vietnamese accent, while growing up they discovered that there was nothing to it. Cà phê phin (filter coffee), atisô (artichoke), xi nê ma (cinema), căng tin (canteen), xi-măng (cement), ghế tô nê (Thonet chair): in the Vietnamese language, many words bear the imprint of a French origin. What if the same were true of everyday objects? Objets vietnamiens is a research project analyzing the production of objects in Vietnam in the light of French colonization and decolonization.
“Vietnamese Objects: Material Culture of Resilience in the Face of (De)colonization” has just been published by Triest Verlag and ECAL.
Co-authors: Quang Vinh Nguyen and Émilie Laystary
Photography: Cynthia Mai Ammann with contributions from Mắt Bét, Kai Nguyễn et Théa Giglio
Graphic design: Chi-Long Trieu
Launch planned in Paris in March 2026.
