Dana Aviv

Dana Aviv (b. 1976) is a ceramic artist based on the island of Hydra, Greece. Working exclusively by hand with pre-industrial, non-wheel-based techniques, she creates works that reference the symbolic systems of ancient material cultures, particularly those of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Her ceramics resemble archeological artifacts: their unglazed surfaces, irregular hand-built forms, and earth-toned palette foreground the elemental nature of clay.

Aviv’s practice takes on an animistic understanding of matter treating the vessel as both sculptural form and repository of ritual, collective belief and cultural memory. In her hands, the matter becomes an intimate inner landscape, shaped by intuition and attuned to processes of transformation.

She studied Literature and Theater at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later pursued continuing studies in psychology at the Open University in Tel Aviv, including training in trauma and PTSD. Alongside her work as a therapist, Aviv first encountered clay as a meditative practice, one that deepened her engagement with introspection, healing, and change. Over the past decade, she travelled internationally to study ceramic techniques while developing a distinct and self-directed approach to the medium.