There’s something quietly magical about Rebecca Manson’s work. The New York–based artist has a knack for taking things we usually overlook—tiny details, fleeting moments, fragile life—and turning them into unforgettable ceramic sculptures. Her signature porcelain butterflies and moths don’t just sit politely on a wall. They spill, ripple, and cascade across surfaces, making you stop and really look.
Manson is obsessed (in the best way) with scale and contradiction. Porcelain is both tough and delicate, permanent yet vulnerable—much like the insects she recreates. Each wing is built from tens of thousands of tiny, handmade porcelain pieces affectionately called “smushes.” Layered together, they recreate the lush texture of real butterfly scales and the natural camouflage that helps them survive in the wild. Up close, it’s mesmerizing. From afar, it’s downright dramatic.
Her newest exhibition, Time, You Must Be Laughing, opens next month at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, and it leans even further into this tension between beauty and impermanence. Named after a Joni Mitchell lyric, the show reflects on change as a constant force. In works like Blue Admiral Wing, larger, gem-like forms are tucked into flowing fields of smushes, all finished with iridescent, dichroic glazes that shimmer as you move around them.
For Rebecca Manson, decay isn’t something to fear—it’s part of what makes nature so compelling. Her porcelain butterflies invite us to slow down, get lost in the details, and appreciate these moments exactly as they are. The exhibition runs from January 8 to February 28, and if you can’t make it, you can always dive into more of her ceramic sculptures on Instagram.
