Spring Restaurant installation by Valéria Nascimento

Valéria Nascimento

We are fascinated by Valéria’s poetic and sensitive work, with its patterns and rhythms inspired by nature, including spirals, waves, petals, leaves and the undulating forms of birds in flight. Every piece she uses – although seemingly a duplicate – is in fact unique. When assembled into large-scale installations, these small forms engage in dialogue with one another, creating a dynamic effect.

Like many people, we first encountered Valéria’s beautiful work at the Spring restaurant at Somerset House in London where she was asked to create a site-specific work of her signature porcelain petals that appears to blossom on the walls. When assembled into large-scale installations, these small forms engage in dialogue with one another, creating a dynamic effect. Her artistic reputation has continued to rise year on year with her work shown at many international art fairs, including Collect and Art Miami/Basel. In 2019, she was given her first solo exhibition in the USA.

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Having grown up in Brazil where she studied architecture, Valéria Nascimento cites Roberto Burle Marx and Oscar Niemeyer as important, cultural influences, “Both of them had a passion for curvaceous lines and sensuous forms. Niemeyer in particular drew great inspiration from Brazil’s exuberant nature”. When she was first introduced to clay, she became fascinated by its multiple possibilities for expression and the development of spatial ideas. Her inspiration is drawn mostly from the natural world, and she chooses to work with porcelain because it has the smoothness and the malleability that she needs to create new shapes, manipulating it to appear virtually weightless.

With her own architectural background, it is natural she should consider the space in which her installations are to be housed before proposing possible compositions whether for walls or suspended from ceilings. Her work focuses on repetitive sequencing, where separate elements form a cohesive, sculptural group. Site-specific commissions include sculptural installations for private clients, public art and hospitality environments.

Valéria Nascimento in her studio