Ugly Things et al. is a Los Angeles-based ceramics studio founded by artist Chen Zou. The work bridges ancient and contemporary, elegant and playful—honoring traditional ceramic techniques while exploring new forms and materials.

Chen's ceramic journey began in Jingdezhen, China, a city with centuries of ceramic tradition, and continued at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she refined her practice in a program known for merging craft and conceptual art. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2024, she has been deeply inspired by the city's diverse landscapes and geological formations.

On hiking trips through Southern California, Chen forages for wild clay from the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, using it as slip to adorn her vessels. The foraged clay—shaped by geological forces over millions of years—becomes a visual record of place, connecting each piece to the specific landscape that inspired it.

While deeply engaged with materiality and process, these vessels exist to honor the everyday—to bring quiet beauty into domestic rituals, to elevate the ordinary through objects made with care and intention.

Drawing inspiration from ancient vessels found in museum collections, Chen hand-builds each piece, allowing organic forms to emerge that echo the fluid shapes found in nature. Her practice is rooted in the belief that ceramics can be both artful and deeply connected to place.