Ludmilla Balkis (b. 1981 Domont, France) is a ceramicist who has exhibited her work in galleries across Europe, including Paris, Biarritz, and Berlin. Balkis’ work was also featured in a group show in the Oiasso Museoa, an archeological museum in Irun, Spain. Balkis studied fashion and art history in Paris where she discovered her desire to redefine the relationship with the body in society. Before turning to ceramics, Balkis was a fashion designer for many years and worked at Céline in London with Phoebe Philo.

Continuing her search for a profound connection to the fundamentals, Balkis was drawn to the more grounded reality of ceramics, and she began learning with Freya Bramble Carter in 2014 in London. Initially, she drew inspiration from pioneering ceramicists such as Lucy Rie, Hans Copper and Jennifer Lee’s distinctive approaches. Returning to France in 2017, she was introduced to the Japanese approach to clay. Today, Balkis is based in the Basque Country–a place of raw, natural splendor. More than ever, soil and a contact with the earth and nature is at the heart of Balkis’ endeavor, and her voluntary search for imperfection and unequivocal devotion to minimalism remains central to her practice.