ABOUT - BI0

Zohra Bonnis is a ceramic artist, curator, and founder of Z Gallery Arts, living between Paris and  Vancouver BC . Her ceramic practice is deeply rooted in tradition, shaped by her international training, and guided by the philosophy of 侘び寂び (wabi-sabi), which celebrates imperfection, transience, and the natural beauty of life.

Zohra’s artistic journey has been enriched by years of study with renowned masters across the globe. She trained under Dominique Le Gros in France, in Japan and studied extensively in Korea, where she earned her certification in ceramics from the city of Icheon under the mentorship of Master Lee Hyangkoo and training with Maste  Oongi Hyangjong  learning slab Oongi in Jeju Korea.In Vancouver BC  Zohra honed her craft with Robert Shiozaki, alongside few workshops with Moondobang in Korea and her recent learning of hand-building and coiling techniques from the women potters of Ain Bouchrik village, have given Zohra a profound appreciation for the cultural and technical diversity of pottery.

Her work combines wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques to create vessels and sculptures that are both modern and timeless. Each piece is crafted with intricate textures, natural pigments, and multi-firing methods that evoke emotional depth and celebrate the raw essence of clay. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

Ceramist | Curator | Keeper of Living Traditions

Clay, like memory, is soft at first—shaped by the hands that hold it, marked by every gesture, fracture, and silence. I see it not as an object to perfect, but as a body to listen to. A record of pressure. A site of resilience.

I create vessels to hold memory—clay forms that carry silence, tension, and devotion. My work is deeply tied to a life lived across cultures: born in Morocco, shaped by France since age 2, now living between France and Canada, and transformed by time spent in Korea and Japan, learning techniques from masters.

I have never belonged to one tradition, and perhaps that’s what defines me—I move between worlds, stitching together the threads that connect us all through earth, fire, and ritual. I carry the echoes of my teachers across the world, who entrusted me with techniques both precise and poetic—reminding me always: tradition lives when it adapts with care.

My pieces are quiet on the outside, but they speak. They carry the memory of women potters in the Rif Mountains who first shaped earth by instinct. They echo the long, meditative lines of Korean Ongi, Buncheong, and celadon that I studied directly in Icheon, Jeju, and Japan. Each technique required humility. The vessel stands only when you know how to listen to it. To rush is to break. To force is to lose the form. Like raising a child, you shape with patience, or you risk collapse. This became my meditation, my philosophy. My masters passed on more than just technique—they passed on presence.

As a curator and founder of ZGalleryArts, I weave these insights into every exhibition I shape. I do not separate making from meaning. I believe in slow looking, in deep archives, and in presenting works that hold stories across time and cultures—where contemporary voices meet ancient echoes. I now apply this same philosophy to my ceramic work.

In my studio, I imprint. I layer. I experiment. My vessels are not only to hold but to remember. Some are cracked. Some are bare. All are deliberate. They are reminders that we hold more than we think we can. 

There is an intimacy in ceramics that I return to again and again—the intimacy of inheritance, the intimacy of healing, the intimacy of reclaiming knowledge once lost or ignored. My work is not always loud, but it is grounded. Every crackle, every matte surface, every unexpected drip tells you:

I WAS HERE, AND I AM STILL BECOMING.