Henri Matisse's great-grandson has created a ceramics collection inspired by his ancestor's art.

Alex Matisse, a ceramicist and privately the great-grandson of the famous painter Henri Matisse, has reached for the most famous works of his great-grandfather in his latest project. The exceptional collection of cups, plates and platters is not only a refreshment of the memory of the French artist, but also a personal journey through Alex's legacy.

As the ceramicist Alex Matisse argues, being the great-grandson of such a famous painter does not make the career path any easier. On the contrary, the burden of family pressure obliges one to work even harder to be perceived through the prism of one's own achievements, not those of one's ancestors.

That is why the young Matisse decided to follow his own artistic path, which eventually led him to meet his great-grandfather. The result of this "collaboration" is an extraordinary tribute to the master, commemorating his most important works, but also a demonstration of the craftsmanship offered by his great-grandson.

East Fork – Alex Matisse's Unique Pottery Studio

From the very beginning, Alex Matisse was not interested in painting. His artistic soul was running away from his family heritage. In accordance with his interests, he graduated in pottery from Guilford College in North Carolina , after which he opened his own pottery studio, East Fork. Thanks to his diligence, but also his incredible talent and craftsmanship, he quickly gained recognition, and his company began to expand over the years.

Currently, East Fork has its own factory, as well as stores in Asheville, Atlanta and Brooklyn, where it sells high-quality ceramics dedicated to the kitchen, as well as candles and glassware. Matisse is responsible for the entire process of creating objects, constantly emphasizing his passion for creation:

- The process is really beautiful. You mix, you combine, you create glazes, you test them. It's science, it's just hard work. I feel best on the production floor. That's what I love.

Although Matisse wanted to earn his name on his own , he does not hide the fact that his love of ceramics was passed on to him by his great-grandfather, whose ceramic objects accompanied him in childhood. The artist also emphasizes the strong bond with his ancestor through the home lithographs on the walls, which have inspired him for years.

Henri Matisse on ceramics - meeting with great-grandfather at the table

Alex Matisse, who "distanced" himself from his family heritage, completed one of his most important projects in 2025 - an extraordinary sentimental collection of ceramics dedicated to the memory of the works of his great-grandfather Henri Matisse.

The artist spent two years working on the collection, with each piece meticulously crafted. Alex teamed up with his brother, who now runs the Les Héritiers Matisse foundation, to create a unique series inspired by his great-grandfather’s work. The decorations were made in a workshop in France and approved by Georges Matisse on behalf of the foundation before they were fired.

In order to best reflect the character of his great-grandfather’s works, Alex focused on his work in later years, including etchings and collages. The collection includes dinner plates decorated with silhouettes of female figures from the series “Nu Bleu” (1952), smaller plates decorated with portraits originally made in etching technique, which were inspired by Matisse’s prints: “Bédouine au grand voile” (1947) and “Nadia au regard sérieux” (1948) , dessert plates decorated with leaves and shapes that look like they were cut from a large canvas “La Perruche et la sirène” (1952), a mug with a collage “Women and Monkeys” (1954), a large platter decorated with a drawing of a plane tree, which Matisse drew with a thin, black line “Le Platane” (1951).