About the Artists & Studio
Studio Davka was founded in Haifa, Israel, in 2018 by ceramic artists and makers Gily Bella Sofia Ilan and Nadav Rauchwerger, both graduates of the Ceramic and Glass Design Department at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.
Our artistic practice moves between art and design, bringing together sculptural works, functional objects, and experimental approaches to ceramic materials.
Working both independently and collaboratively, we explore the relationships between material, form, texture, and process. Our work combines traditional ceramic techniques with contemporary approaches to making, through ongoing experimentation with clay, glazes, firing methods, and scale.
Over the years, we have developed individual bodies of work alongside collaborative collections, installations, and exhibitions. Our different artistic approaches influence one another while allowing each of us to maintain an independent creative voice.
Our work has been presented in exhibitions, art fairs, and design events in Israel.
Nadav Rauchwerger
Nadav is a ceramic artist and sculpture whose work focuses on form, structure, surface, and the expressive possibilities of clay.
His practice combines wheel throwing, hand-building, carving, and sculptural construction, often moving between functional vessels and large-scale ceramic installations.
Through repetition, rhythm, and the exploration of texture, he investigates the relationship between individual elements and larger compositions.
His work reflects an ongoing interest in traditional ceramic processes and their potential to create contemporary sculptural forms.
Gily Bella Sofia Ilan
Gily is a ceramic artist and maker whose practice explores the relationships between material, the body, memory, and traditional craft.
Her work moves between ceramic sculpture, installation, and functional forms, often incorporating experimental processes and unexpected combinations of materials.
A recurring element in her practice is the dialogue between ceramics and textiles, exploring softness and rigidity, fragility and permanence, and the transformation of familiar materials.
Through intuitive handbuilding and material experimentation, she develops sculptural forms that challenge conventional definitions of ceramic objects.
Ceramic Education & Studio Management
Alongside our artistic practice, we founded Studio Davka in Haifa in 2018 as a space dedicated to ceramic art, design, and education. In 2022, we expanded our educational activities by opening a dedicated ceramics school in downtown Haifa.
As founders and directors, we are actively involved in teaching, curriculum development, and the ongoing management of the school. Today, Studio Davka has approximately 100 regular students attending weekly classes and a teaching team of around ten instructors.
Our educational program includes ongoing wheel-throwing and handbuilding classes, introductory pottery wheel courses, specialized workshops focusing on clay and glaze development, and masterclasses led by ceramic artists and professionals from Israel and abroad.
Our approach to education combines technical knowledge with creative freedom, material experimentation, and the development of an individual artistic language.
Over the years, students from Studio Davka have continued their studies at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, while others have established independent ceramic studios of their own.
Artist Residency Program
Studio Davka offers a year-long residency program for graduates of ceramic art and design departments, with the possibility of extension.
The program provides emerging ceramic artists with a professional working environment and the opportunity to develop their independent artistic practice within an active ceramics studio.
Residents have access to three electric kilns, fourteen pottery wheels, worktables, an extruder, a gallery and exhibition space, and an extensive selection of ceramic materials and glazes.
The residency encourages independent exploration, material experimentation, and informal exchange within the studio's creative and educational community.
Through our work as artists, educators, and studio directors, we see Studio Davka as a place where artistic practice, teaching, material research, and creative exchange continuously inform one another.