Ferreira & Nascimento: Natural Terrains
August 27 – October 8, 2022 66 Elm Street New Canaan, CT
For Ferreira, his work is a “celebration of irregularities” that begins with small, simple shapes which are then repeated thousands of times. Ferreira works with porcelain ceramic in its purest form, rolling the material out into paper thin sheets and allowing it to dry for about an hour. This prevents the porcelain from sticking to the tools he utilizes to cut the individual shapes. Each piece is meticulously hand-cut and allowed to dry further before being fired in a highpowered kiln. As the tiles are assembled together in an organized fashion, the hand-made becomes more evident. Rather than getting uniformly lost in the grouping, the individual character of each piece is accentuated adding dimension to the overall textured surface. Color, derived from natural minerals, also plays a part in his work, as the pieces can go from lighter to darker values, or make a statement of form and perspective against neutral backgrounds. Ferreira’s process develops organically, the composition and rhythm dictated by spontaneous thoughts and feelings of the moment. The results are landscape tessellations, fragmented shapes that are visual feasts made timeless with the use of ancient mosaic techniques. Ferreira also credits as influence the work of Sérgio de Camargo, the Brazilian sculptor and relief maker who became an important figure in the Latin American Constructivist movement. Ferreira’s work has been the subject of many exhibitions in Europe and is in numerous private and corporate collections. His mosaic compositions are also in high demand for site-specific commissions. Ferreira currently lives and works in London.
Valéria Nascimento’s artistic practice shares certain aspects with Ferreira in that she too makes the porcelain material paper thin before hand-cutting each piece individually. As with Ferreira, the porcelain is left in its natural, unglazed finish, and only colored with oxides or minerals. The similarities end there, however, for her shapes are directly inspired by nature and take on the forms of stunning botanical or aquatic installations. Flora, blooms, hibiscus, bamboo, branches, or coral, anemones, and the like grace the spaces they inhabit. Nascimento’s architectural background informs her intricate and detailed presentation, and her work is about bringing nature indoors. The exhibition will feature a site-specific wall-mounted “meadow” installation as well as other work new to American audiences. Also included are works the two artists collaborated on, combining their distinctive aesthetics into three separate panels. Nascimento has had a prolific career and has been extensively exhibited and written about. Her work is in multiple private and public locations throughout the world.
Ferreira & Nascimento Fern, 2022 (detail)
Ferreira & Nascimento Resilience, 2022 (detail)
Lucas Ferreira & Valéria Nascimento
Resilience, 2022
Porcelain, wire on panel 39 ½ x 39 ½ x 3 ½ inches
Lucas Ferreira & Valéria Nascimento Fern, 2022
Porcelain on panel 15 ¼ x 15 ¼ x 4 ½ inches
Lucas Ferreira & Valéria Nascimento Amaranthus, 2022 Porcelain on panel 15 ¼ x 15 ¼ x 3 ½ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Coral Island, 2021 Porcelain 12 inches diameter
Lucas Ferreira
Coral Island, 2021 Porcelain 18 ¾ inches diameter
Lucas Ferreira
Cascade, 2022
Porcelain on panel in Perspex case; diptych 39 ½ x 26 x 2 ¼ inches each panel
Lucas Ferreira
Oceanic, 2021-2022
Porcelain on panel in Perspex case 24 x 47 ½ x 3 inches
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fade 4, 5, and 6, 2018 Porcelain; triptych 23 !⁄" x 23 !⁄" inches each panel
Lucas Ferreira
Wilderness I, II, and III, 2021 Porcelain and glass; triptych 32 x 15 ¾ inches each panel
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fraction, 2021 Porcelain on panel 39 ½ x 39 ½ x 1 ¾ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fraction II, 2021 Porcelain on panel 39 ½ x 30 ½ x 1 ¾ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fraction III, 2021
Porcelain on panel 39 ½ x 21 x 1 ¾ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fraction IV, 2021
Porcelain on panel 39 ½ x 39 ½ x 1 ¾ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Grey Fraction V, 2021
Porcelain on panel 39 ½ x 6 ¾ x 1 ¾ inches
Lucas Ferreira
Blue Vessels (set of 5), 2021 Porcelain
2 ¾ x 3 ½ x 3 ½ inches each
Valéria Nascimento Blue Meadow, 2022 Porcelain and wire 29 x 132 x 3 inches
Valéria Nascimento
White Vine Flowers, 2022 Porcelain, wire on panel; triptych 19 ¾ x 19 ¾ x 5 ½ inches each
Valéria Nascimento Blue Sakuras, 2022
Porcelain and wire, 4 elements 60 x 60 x 5 inches
Valéria Nascimento Blue Cups, 2022
Porcelain and wire 58 x 11 x 3 inches
Valéria Nascimento
Black Flora, 2022 Porcelain and wood 14 x 14 x 4 inches
Valéria Nascimento
Small White Flora, 2022 Porcelain and wood 11 x 11 x 4 ½ inches
Valéria Nascimento
White Flora, 2022 Porcelain and wood 12 ½ x 12 ½ x 4 ½ inches
Valéria Nascimento
Large White Flora, 2022
Porcelain and wood 16 ½ x 16 ½ x 5 inches
Valéria Nascimento
Small Black Drift, 2022 Porcelain, wire and wood 7 ¼ x 7 ¼ x 4 ¼ inches
Valéria Nascimento Black Drift, 2022
Porcelain, wire and wood 29 x 132 x 3 inches
Valéria Nascimento
Small White Drift, 2022
Porcelain, wire and wood 6 ¾ x 6 ¾ x 4 ¼ inches
Valéria Nascimento Blue Lianas, 2022 Porcelain and wire 44 ½ x 7 x 2 ¾ inches
Valéria Nascimento White Meadow, 2022 Porcelain and wire 39 inches diameter
