PLASTER CAST

IVA VIANA’S PIECES LOOK DELICATE AND STURDY AT THE SAME TIME. HER BIRDS, FLOWERS AND LEAVES IN BOLD COLOURS CAPTURE THE EYE AND MAKE US WANT TO TAKE THEM HOME TO BRIGHTEN UP OUR LIVES

Words: SANDRA GATO

IT IS NOT an easy job, being an artist in Portugal. And it can be even more difficult when you have the audacity to work away from the main city centres of Lisbon or Porto, with all that implies.

Iva Viana does it. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. She lives and works in the beautiful city of Viana do Castelo, but her art has no fixed address. Big in size or smaller and as part of a set, it is almost impossible not to feel drawn to the beautiful objects that Iva sculpts in plaster. Their simplicity feels organic and approachable, like nature itself.

Who doesn’t enjoy the agreeable presence of one of her large flowers or leaves, the colour depending on the mood or preference of the buyer, or chosen according to the overall decoration of the room in question.

Easy to live with, this is ‘comfortable’ art.

Iva’s pieces are not meant to shock or trigger deep reactions. They represent natural shapes, often in brilliant hues. And that is what gives them a kind of universal appeal.

In her own words, Iva Viana tells us about inspiration, method and creation, transporting us to her magical – yet simple – world.

AP How do you define yourself artistically? IV I am a plaster sculptor.

AP And how did you arrive at the style you have become known for? IV It has been a process and a long one – I’ve been working with this material for some 16 years now. I must say that I fell totally in love with plaster and its possibilities. After finishing a sculpture degree at the university of Fine Arts in Porto, I started working with a French company based in Lisbon that specialised in decorative plaster. That was my first real contact with plaster and my opportunity of learning (a lot) with Portuguese plaster masters.

AP Are you able to pinpoint a favourite material, shape, colour within your portfolio? IV My chosen material is plaster, for sure. In terms of colour I would actually say white, and when it comes to shape I would go for cut-out volumes that allow me to create shadows.

AP Talk us through the creative process –how is a plan born and developed?

IV If it is a special commission, I start by visiting the location where my piece will feature, and, of course, talking to the client themself. I like to hear their stories, listen to what they have to tell me. I consider myself a storyteller. Through my art I tell other people’s stories but always according to my own interpretation of them. After several sketches I arrive at the final drawing – the one I present to the client. The next phase is making the model itself and focusing on the sculpting. Then there is the final stage and assembling the individual pieces where necessary.

AP What are the criteria you have in place before accepting a commission for a bespoke piece? IV To me, the most important thing is that the client undertands that regardless of anything else, including the work involved, it is my design. I never compromise the creativity or quality.

AP What truly inspires you; what motivates your thinking? IV Everyone wants to know that, and I always give the same answer: what truly inspires me is the plaster itself, the material, and all the modelling and sculpting possibilities that it gives me. Even after 16 years – six with the French company and ten in Iva Viana Atelier – I am still in love with plaster and motivated to create more and more with it. There are no bounds.

AP Do you divide your work into different periods of your career? IV I have to say that over the past ten years my path has evolved into something that wasn’t planned. A decade ago I never thought I would have an atelier with a team of seven people. But it was that growth that allows us to have a commercial line, manufactured by several Viana do Castelo’s inmates. It’s a very successful project that's been running for three years now. Today we have a catalogue, featuring mainly panels, and we create exclusive commissions, unique pieces, to order. Adding to all that, I still manage to design and sculpt my own works that are not special orders from others.

AP You live and work in Viana do Castelo. Is that because you think it’s time to make art happen away from the great city centres? IV Viana do Castelo is my city, I am a proud ‘minhota’. Living in Viana allows me a great quality of life and that includes my nice atelier, perfectly located near the A28 motorway, just a 40-minute drive from Porto. Some people think that everything happens in Lisbon and that the north of the country ends in Porto, the second city. But I assure you that there is a small but very real paradise above it.

AP Are you working on any particular projects right now that you can tell us about? IV Since 2020 I have a huge project on my hands: doing four façades for four buildings in Viana do Castelo. It’s called Lima Meu and it comprises four eight-meter-high panels that reflect my connection with the river Lima, that passes through Viana do Castelo.

I am a rower myself, and the panels translate what I see and feel every time I go into the river. This is an incredibly special project for me and the first exterior one I have ever done. But in this case the final material is not plaster because it is not suited for the outdoors.