About.

Born in Ankara in 1994, Atilay Cinar is a London-based ceramic artist specialising in Copper Matte Raku. His work centres on bird sculptures, bringing together form, texture and colour through an approach shaped by personal experience and an interest in ceramic traditions.

Atilay earned his master’s degree from Hacettepe University’s Institute of Fine Arts, where his research focused on Copper Matte Raku applications on ceramic bird figures. Drawing on both traditional and contemporary ceramic practices, he continues to explore the relationship between sculptural form and experimental firing techniques.

Birds are a recurring presence in Atilay’s work. Their flowing lines and sense of movement inform his sculptures, while the tactile qualities of clay and the variations created during firing shape their surfaces. Through Copper Matte Raku, colour and metallic effects become part of the sculptural language, developing in close relation to each form.

His practice combines careful shaping with an openness to the unexpected. Fire, smoke and reduction influence the final surface, producing variations that cannot be repeated exactly. Alongside Copper Matte Raku, his interests include raku, lustre and naked raku, extending his exploration of alternative firing processes.

Atilay has participated in collective exhibitions, art fairs and ceramics symposiums, including Art Ankara and the International Macsabal Wood Firing Symposium. Since moving to London in 2021, he has continued his independent practice through Cinart Ceramics, which he founded the same year.

Working with clay offers Atilay a direct connection between an idea and its physical form. His bird sculptures bring this process into focus, exploring how movement, surface and the traces of firing can come together in a single object.