Else Coral Vase 4 by Michal Fargo

Born in Israel in 1984, Michal Fargo studied ceramic design at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem between 2007 and 2011. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. Since 2011, she has written for the Israeli design blog Redesign and worked as a ceramic sculpting instructor at several arts centers around Israel, while making her own work from a small studio in Tel Aviv’s Noga neighborhood.

Fargo’s work explores materiality and the contrast between urban lifestyle and natural inclinations. She is perhaps best known thus far for Else (2011–), an ongoing series initiated as her graduation project at Bezalel. For Else, Fargo uses a knife to carve into sponge fragments; she then pours liquid porcelain into the cavities. The results appear uncannily organic.

Fargo’s work is included in private collections and those of institutions such as the Design Museum Holon, the Materials Library Holon (both in Israel), the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum in China, and the Shepparton Art Museum in Australia. Honors include a bronze award for Modern Ceramic Art at the 2nd Kaolin Grand Prix in Jingdezhen, China (2013); second place in the 2012 Biennale de la Céramique (BCA); and the 2012 Sydney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award in the international category. She is also the recipient of a Binyamini First Studio scholarship (2011). At the time of writing, Fargo is preparing to pursue her Master’s degree in design at the Royal College of Art in London, as the recipient of an RCA/Clore-Bezalel scholarship (2014).