Rodrigo Torres
Ceramicist
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A clay illusion with a message
- Rodrigo’s trompe-l’oeil clay forms mimic cardboard and packaging
- He worked with artist Luiz Zerbini as an assistant
- His practice sits between craftsmanship and contemporary art
Rodrigo Torres trained as a painter at Rio de Janeiro’s Escola de Belas Artes, and found his way to ceramics through an unconventional route. After visiting a ceramic studio near his workshop, he discovered clay to be the ideal medium through which to manifest his vision of colour, materiality and surface. “I arrived at ceramics by letting myself in, uninvited," he says. Rodrigo gives weight and permanence to cardboard, the discarded fall-out of consumerism, by shaping, firing and painting forms in clay that replicate cardboard and packaging. His art draws a historic parallel: in antiquity, ceramics occupied this same place of transport, circulation and disposal. Rodrigo’s practice seeks to reclaim human agency and presence in creation and production against the anonymity of industrial manufacturing.
INTERVIEW
As a teenager, I was already proficient in drawing and engaged in teaching it. I entered university with the intention of mastering colour to become a painter. I understood that painting was tied to art history, philosophy and broader disciplines, which significantly expanded my perspective.
I am primarily inspired by the 1980s generation of Brazilian artists. A pivotal moment was the landmark exhibition at Parque Lage in Rio, featuring Beatriz Milhazes, Luiz Zerbini and Adriana Varejão. When I started my university studies, these artists were holding major exhibitions. It generated a sense of identification, a place I wanted to reach.
I position my practice at the intersection of artisanship, contemporary art and design. For this approach to remain meaningful, it is essential that I am directly involved in the creation process. I do not outsource production. At the same time, I allow myself the creative freedom to integrate diverse elements, combining ceramics with painting, wood or metal.
Fine art is received positively, and artisanship is still not fully viewed in the same light. Within my practice, artisanship is a commendation meaning high quality. I also consider the heritage and process of making, which is passed from generation to generation. It is a methodology that repeats across centuries.
Rodrigo Torres
Ceramicist
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
PHONE
+55 2122221651
LANGUAGES
Portuguese, English
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