Rafael Pérez

Ceramicist

©Rafael Pérez

©Eduardo Villaverde

The joy of the unpredictable

Rafael works intuitively and spontaneously
He uses a technique involving layering two different clays
Rafael teaches around the world, from Italy to the US

Born in Haro, in the Rioja region of Spain, Rafael Perez initially studied economics before going to the Escola Massana in Barcelona, where he specialised in ceramics. Rafael revels in the making process, enjoying using different techniques and materials, and the paradoxes they create. For example, he likes to combine materials that react to heat in different ways, producing ceramics in a controlled yet unpredictable manner. He takes great pleasure in the surprise of opening the kiln and discovering how his works have been transformed, to the extent that he doesn’t always recognise them as his.

Interview

©Eduardo Villaverde

©Rafael Pérez

When did you open your own workshop?: I started from zero. After my studies in Barcelona, I went to another region with some friends. We stayed together for several years and then I came back here to my native city, Haro, where I opened my workshop. That was about 35 years ago.
When did you first fall in love with ceramics?: The very first object I made was many years before I studied ceramics. I was around four years old, and I loved playing with the clay in the countryside. I made a small ball, put some branches on it and felt for the first time this great sensation of making. Since then I have made so much!
Do you use any specific techniques?: In reality I work with many formats, materials and temperatures. Usually I work using techniques that I have developed myself, so they don’t have particular names and you cannot say it is this or that technique.
Can people visit your workshop?: You can visit it if you are used to chaos. It’s like Francis Bacon’s workspace! You can visit my house/gallery where I have my shop. My actual workshop is connected to the gallery but it is not a workshop for people to wander through. It’s too chaotic!

Rafael Pérez is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1980