Innovative glaze, iconic shape. Handcrafted with the utmost care and attention since 1964.
Visionary ceramic engineer, powerful artist, precise scientist: Otto Gerharz embraced this triad to create ceramic objects whose timeless tranquility remains unparalleled to this day. Form No. 206, also known as the "UFO Vase", not only achieved worldwide fame but also stood out amongst Gerharz's glazes. In a highly sophisticated process, he manipulated chemical reactions to achieve a structure resembling boiling lava - with the red edition later dubbed "Fat Lava" by collectors worldwide.
Gerharz also broke new ground with his reduction glaze. Using metallic mist and veils of color, he achieved truly spectacular effects, once again giving his works an almost auratic quality that transforms spaces and transcends time. An Otto ceramic was, and remains an object for life.
Otto Keramik has had a distinct influence on contemporary German design.
Otto Gerharz founded his company Otto Keramik in 1964, in the midst of one of the most formative design eras, in which icons such as the Panton Chair, Dieter Rams' Braun Atelier system, and the Porsche 911 were created. He immediately set new standards in ceramic design. With never-before-seen glazes – ingeniously applied to forms designed by the renowned ceramic designer Kurt Tschörner - Otto Gerharz revolutionized the staid ceramics of 1950s West Germany with thunderous, resounding success. In its very first year, the power and independence of Otto Keramik objects captivated audiences worldwide.
Otto Gerharz achieved worldwide fame with his crater and reduction glazes.
Otto objects from this period can still be found all over the world today and are highly valued; even the catalogue from that time has collector’s value.
Otto Gerharz Junior, a ceramics engineer like his father, took over the workshop in 1994. He preserved the techniques and refined them - while simultaneously introducing new, experimental glazing elements: Even more intuitive, even freer. Today, he combines them with the signature forms for which Otto Keramik has always been known. Like his father, Otto Gerharz Junior and his team create objects that are both contemporary and historically significant. These are still handcrafted at the company's headquarters in Rheinbach, Germany.
