Where the Plate Breaks, the Story Begins. The poetic world of Rob Strati and the fragments that bloom into ink-drawn dreams

In the hands of New York–based artist Rob Strati, a shattered porcelain plate becomes more than a remnant of domestic history — it becomes a portal. His ongoing series Fragmented transforms broken heirlooms into visual poetry, where the edge of ceramic becomes the beginning of a story told in delicate pen and ink.

The origin of this body of work is quietly personal. In 2020, a porcelain plate from his late mother-in-law’s collection fell and broke. Strati did not see an accident; he saw an opening. The resulting sketch — part homage, part experiment — gave rise to an entire artistic language. In Fragmented, Strati lays broken plates onto archival paper and extends their printed designs into sweeping ink-drawn landscapes that flow beyond the ceramic. Cascading waterfalls, alpine peaks, or distant sailing ships echo from a floral plate’s center, as if the scene always wanted to escape.

The works are meditations on memory, impermanence, and imagination — often evoking the tradition of wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic of imperfection. But where the art of kintsugi emphasizes repair with visible gold, Strati’s approach draws something new entirely from the break: not healing the object, but collaborating with its fracture.

Each piece carries its own atmosphere, a hybrid between nostalgia and surrealism. Some works honor the original blue-and-white motifs of transferware porcelain; others reinterpret Rococo patterns with a minimalist architectural line. Whether a willow tree grows into a mountain or a broken rim becomes a waterfall, every fragment becomes a character.

Strati’s work has been exhibited at galleries including Fremin Gallery, New York and featured by institutions such as the Royal Academy in London. His drawings, always created by hand, vary in scale and medium — but the plate remains at the heart of every composition, both muse and collaborator.

To explore the full body of work, visit robstrati.com or follow his studio practice via Instagram, where he frequently documents new pieces and process glimpses.

In an age of digital everything, Fragmented reminds us that fragility can be fertile ground. When the object breaks, the story begins — and through Strati’s eye, it becomes one worth keeping.