1.I know
your work since many years, have seen huge wall panels, in different colors and
shape. Last time in Portugal, at the AIC/IAC Congress 2024. How did you start
with this way to work in ceramics?
It was all unconscious. The next thing I knew, I was already in the art world. I studied ceramics for three years at the Soares dos Reis Art School, but it never really interested me because it was so closely linked to industry, and I became increasingly interested in photography. When it came time to go to university, I didn't want to pursue sculpture because photography was calling out to me. I ended up not going to any course, photography was private and there was no money to pay for the course. So I set up my own little studio, still at my parents' house, and started making my first ceramic pieces. I was trying to find interest in what I had studied for three years, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. One day I received information that there was going to be an intensive course in sculpture and ceramic murals with the sculptor Arcádio Blasco in Coimbra, Portugal. I took the course and discovered another world in ceramics, I realized that there was another world after all, that ceramics is just a material with which you can do almost anything. From then on..... went on to break new ground. I did other specializations in Spain with Emilio Galassi, spent a short time working in the studio of the master Arcadio Blasco and never stopped. I was hooked. I admit it, it's my addiction 😊 😊.
2. Are you
born as a creative person? Working with clay from childhood?
As I said before, it was all very unconscious. I never had any relatives connected to the arts, much less ceramics, so I didn't grow up in that world, and perhaps that's why I never felt like I fit in with the so-called “normal” world.
3. Can you
explain the materials you use, the firings - and why did you choose “clay“ in
your special way!
In the early years I worked with earthenware, then I started working with stoneware and occasionally with porcelain. Stoneware is my material of choice, with which I have developed my ceramic sculptures and murals. I gave up glazing for good in 2005. I don't identify with them at all in the works I've developed. I like to work with the natural colors of stoneware, with different grain sizes, I buy some colors and then mix them to get more colors and gradients. Occasionally I work with porcelain, but it's not my favorite clay, unless I'm in China, when porcelain is the clay of choice. I'm increasingly fond of the idea of mixing clays with different behaviors, so that later, in my wood-fired kiln, I can obtain more shades and “defects” in the piece. A kind of challenge between me and the clay, with the fire and smoke having the final say. I was taught that with ceramics there are surprises.... so let them be real surprises :-) :-) !! In 2005 I also started working with a wood kiln and it's the only kiln I have. I produce the pieces in my studio in the center of Porto, pack them raw and drive 250 km to my wood kiln, which is in a small village in the interior of Portugal, in Bragança. Only when I'm in an artist's residence do I adapt to the kilns in the space.
4. It´s hard work with the big panels, but you do also work on beautiful smaller pieces:
- what’s the reason/the idea behind -
they look so different...?
Although I work on a larger scale than we
usually see, I still feel that my works are small. My goal is to create
large-scale murals and sculptures, but to achieve this, I would need resources
and, above all, clients willing to invest in these proposals.
In Portugal, the tradition of tiles serves as a
starting point for the creation of my murals. From there, I try to go one step
further, transforming these initial references into volumetric forms, creating
works that expand and gain presence in space. My work is based on essential
themes: space, habitat, the mountain, the valley, the path, the garden, the
territory - in short, the environment that surrounds human beings and the
settings that have accompanied them since their earliest origins. I also draw
on deep and universal feelings, such as falsehood, love, disappointment -
emotions that are so intrinsic to the human condition.
The drawings that make up my works have a
language marked by simple lines, always in search of a harmonious rhythm in the
composition. The repetitions of elements create patterns that gradually
recreate geometries that fade with faded colors, the result of the action of
fire. My intention is to explore rough textures and brittle roughness,
reminiscent of geological formations, such as rocky or sedimentary overlays,
imitating the stratigraphy of the earth. In the end, they often look like
paintings.
In recent years, I have dedicated myself to investigating climate change, using water as a central theme in many of my works. This is the main focus of my production in the studio. However, when I take part in artist residencies, I always try to absorb the local culture and context to create new works. Recently, I had the opportunity to be in China again, where I produced works with a different approach. The immensity of the garbage and the disparities between social classes were the issues that drove my work, serving as a point of reflection and criticism on the contrasts present in that society.
5. Besides
technical aspects, - what is the inspiration for your highly aesthetic ceramics.
What is your intention - your inspiration?
It has more to do with geology, territory, land-use planning, human relations and not forgetting the tile tradition we have. With regard to what I see on Earth, the aim is to record what catches my eye and what I would like to see continue to exist. We're successively destroying everything, we still think we're superior to all beings on earth and that's why many of the works deal with human relationships, but in a more intimate, personal way. The ceramic murals I make are based on tiles, but with volumes and without glazes. I hope you feel both well-being and discomfort in some of the works.
6. For 20
years, Sofia has represented Portugal at international symposiums in countries
on several continents. How important is the experience with other cultures and
artists in your work? Any you'd like to highlight?
It's through these symposiums and residencies that I grow. Every time I go abroad on business, I become a sponge. I always want to absorb everything that surrounds me, cultures, people, the natural or urban environment. Big cities don't seduce me, I can't absorb much because there are already cultural influences everywhere, but when these symposiums or residencies are in cities or towns, everything I feel is very positive. And seeing what other artists are doing and exchanging ideas is also extremely important to me. I've had very good experiences in almost all of them, for various reasons, but Gmunden, Austria was perhaps the symposium that brought together the most qualities, as well as Jingdezhen, China and Keskemét, Hungary.
7. Sofia
is part of a generation of artists who have reclaimed ceramics for the major
arts, looking at it beyond the conventional decorative dimension. How do you
see the evolution and current state of ceramics in Portugal and the way it is
valued (or not) compared to other arts?
I feel like I'm only halfway through everything
I still want to do. I want to continue producing work, face new challenges,
work more and more on a larger scale, for specific locations, have more
exhibitions, do artistic residencies around the world, to grow as a person and
as a ceramicist. And to get ceramics established in the world of contemporary
art. It's a difficult place to be accepted, but I fight for it every day.
In Portugal? Yes, there are very few of us who
work with ceramic material for sculptural works and who have technical
knowledge. I've never liked making bibelots. I've always been fascinated by the
idea of exploring the material to the limit. And the more I work, the less I
know about ceramics. Ceramics is in fashion, every day I see workshops opening,
selling bibelots and giving training.... But it's all a lot of hype.
Ceramics in Portugal has a long way to go. We're light years behind most countries and there isn't even a degree in ceramics in Portugal.
6. You are
member of IAC/AIC - what are you expecting for yourself / the future of this
organization?
I was the first Portuguese to join the academy
in 2013. I was already aware of the opportunities and events organized by the
academy, thanks to conversations I had with my master, Arcádio Blasco. It was
precisely he (along with Rafa Pérez and Alberto Hernández), who recommended
that I join the academy, saying that I had already proven my worth and merit to
join the IAC. Unfortunately, when I received the news that I had been accepted,
Arcádio had already passed away, which makes my presence at the academy a
tribute to him.
I am, however, very critical of the direction
the academy has taken. I'm concerned about the entry of many people whose
artistic quality is, to say the least, questionable. What I feel at the moment
is that it's enough to pay an annual fee and get a few subscriptions to be
admitted, as if it were a “golf club”. In other words, quality and merit, which
were once fundamental criteria for selection, seem to have lost their
importance. I know several good artists who are leaving the academy for this
reason. It's always better to be fewer but good than many and bad.
I hope this scenario changes. That the academy recovers its selection criteria, so that members feel truly motivated to value their work and contribute to the development of the institution. I believe that the academy should promote and support its members more actively, creating an environment in which everyone feels encouraged to stay in the institution and collaborate with each other.
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