functional design through a sculptural lens
Studio LOHO develops a new collection of ceramic bathtubs together with Belgian artist Sharon Van Overmeiren. The sculptural works are presented under a new platform, LOHO Collabs, and are set to show for the first time at COLLECTIBLE 2026 in Brussels. Overall, the project brings an artist’s sculptural language into direct dialogue with the studio’s ceramic practice.
Since its founding in 2017, Studio LOHO has worked almost exclusively in clay. It’s known to produce monumental bathtubs and washbasins formed entirely by hand in its Bruges workshop. The process begins with a solid mass of clay that is gradually shaped into thick walled volumes. There is no mold that predetermines the final profile. Instead, the form is coaxed outward and refined over time in a process that leaves subtly imperfect textural shifts that record the pace of making.
LOHO Collabs brings Sharon Van Overmeiren into Studio LOHO’s ceramic practice
Studio LOHO Opens its workshop to artistic intervention
For this inaugural collaboration, LOHO Collabs brings Sharon Van Overmeiren into the studio‘s ceramic practice to invite intervention within its existing workflow. The Belgian artist is known for sculptural works that draw from a wide field of references, including classical statuary and heraldic signs. Her objects often carry a sense of narrative suggestion, as if fragments of a larger story have settled into solid form.
Clay has long appeared in her practice, yet this marks the first time her vocabulary has been applied to a fully functional object at this scale. The ceramic bathtubs provide an expansive surface that accommodates relief, carving, and modeled additions. Organic motifs and ambiguous emblems rise gently from the exterior walls, integrated while the clay remains workable.
the collaboration is set to show for the first time at COLLECTIBLE 2026 in Brussels
ceramic bathtubs sculpted through relief and addition
The collaboration between Studio LOHO and Sharon Van Overmeiren remains grounded in the physical properties of the ceramic. Clay responds to pressure, gravity, and moisture, and the modeling process acknowledges these limits. Relief elements are built up and pressed back into the mass of the tub, creating a continuous skin rather than an applied layer. Once fired, the surfaces retain a quiet density. Light moves across them slowly, tracing shallow recesses and rounded edges.
The proportions characteristic of the studio remain evident. The bathtubs sit low and broad, with thick rims that emphasize their weight. Van Overmeiren’s interventions do not disrupt this geometry. Instead, they add a secondary reading across the surface. The accompanying washbasins extend the same approach, their basins edged with sculpted details that echo the baths.
each bathtub is hand-modeled from a solid block of clay in the Bruges workshop
Sharon Van Overmeiren’s monolithic technique
Each piece is formed from a single block of clay and finished by hand. This monolithic technique demands patience and physical endurance. It also ensures that no two works are identical. Variations in modeling, drying, and firing introduce slight differences in tone and contour, reinforcing the individuality of each object.
Water remains central to the design. The interior of each bath is smoothed to accommodate immersion, while the exterior carries the more articulated relief. The project holds these two conditions in balance. The ceramic bathtubs by Studio LOHO and Sharon Van Overmeiren function fully as baths, yet they also operate as sculptural volumes.
The artist’s fictional sensibility brings symbolic detail into a domestic setting. Emblems and figures suggest historical references, their scale calibrated to the reclining human body.
relief motifs are shaped directly into the surface while the clay remains workable
the washbasins extend the same sculptural language as the bathtubs
Van Overmeiren draws on references such as classical statuary and heraldic imagery
the monolithic technique preserves subtle traces of touch and pressure
every piece is unique due to variations in modeling, drying, and firing
project info:
brand: Studio LOHO | @studioloho
artist: Sharon Van Overmeiren | @sharon_0v0_
program: LOHO Collabs
Studio LOHO founders: Karel Loontiens, Jo Hoeven
launch event: COLLECTIBLE (March 12th — 15th, 2026)
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