About the work
Three generations in clay.
The work should feel ancient, but not old-fashioned. Quiet, precise, and made from rough material — clay, fire, hand, and repetition.
Ceramics has been in the family for three generations, from Latvian studios to Iceland. What passes from hand to hand is not a technique; it is a way of paying attention.
Arnis Preiss
Crystalline glaze archive.
Arnis Preiss is from Latvia and works with many types of crystalline glazes. Matiass remembers his hand-thrown vases and refined teapots.
This section is kept as an archive of surface, mineral, heat, and patience.
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Tenis Preiss
Latvian ceramics, cups, and handles.
Tenis Preiss made Latvian ceramics and was a key figure in the Latvian ceramics world in the early 2000s. Matiass remembers his precision in throwing, cups, and handles.
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A cup can look simple, but the handle reveals everything.
It has to belong to the form, and disappear into use
Summers in the studio
Summer around clay.
Matiass was taught directly by both his grandfather and father. Summers in his grandfather's studio meant watching, trying, failing, and learning.
At age three, he made a small bowl with a little ball-like piece in the middle. That piece was not kept. Around age five, the first kept pieces were handbuilt piggy banks and trays.
Matiass Preiss
Current work in Iceland.
Matiass moved to Iceland with his family when he was five and still lives and works there. His ceramics carry Latvian clay memory, Japanese influence, Icelandic quiet, and modern precision.
Lineage is not nostalgia only. It is a standard. The current work is made in small batches, one piece at a time.
Matiass Preiss
Iceland