María de Andrés, sculptor with a passion for the study of forms in artistic ceramics

The sculptor María de Andrés explains and reveals her work, her sculptural technique, her great passion for ceramics and her continuous search for beauty of form and quality of finish. We hope you enjoy the work of this great artist as much as we do.

“My love affair with ceramics was love at first sight. When I discovered it at the age of 19, its magic captivated me, and since then it has been my passion. I left a secure and well-paid job, against my family, to enter the Francisco Alcántara Ceramics School of Art in Madrid, and dedicate myself completely to ceramics.

My work is somewhere between design and sculpture. Over the almost 40 years of my professional career, I have developed an evolution from tradition to modernity and a sensitivity towards the values of ceramic material, as a material of great expressive and chromatic richness, which I work with from the enjoyment of handmade pieces made with love and care, the mastery of technique and manual dexterity.

Of all the techniques, the one I like most is modelling, transforming the clay block intuitively until the object or sculpture emerges, seeking beauty of form, elegance of line and quality of finish.

My work is based on the study of form. I make pieces with concise and aesthetically balanced shapes, where the definition of straight or curved planes is delimited by edges that reinforce the shape, and later enriched with the decoration of engobes and enamels of my own creation, to obtain a coherent and harmonious whole, unique pieces created to embellish the space that surrounds us.

In my sculptural work I develop two well differentiated lines: the work of geometric forms , constructivist, calculated, elaborated from previous sketches.With them I face the challenge of mastering the clay and subjecting it to the rigidity of geometric shapes with right angles, until clean planes and dry edges are achieved, avoiding the deformations inherent to the material. Sometimes these volumes appear fragmented to give rise to dynamic forms, creating subtle volumetric games.

In contrast, the other line of organic forms inspired by nature, where curves predominate, allows me to work from intuition, with much more freedom and fluidity, establishing a dialogue with each piece, letting myself be carried away by the clay and its plastic qualities, which is more ductile, until I find a suggestive form through soft curves that evoke movement”.

María de Andrés

María de Andrés (Asturias) is a ceramist, designer and sculptor with extensive professional experience in the field of contemporary ceramics. She graduated in Artistic Ceramics at the Escuela de Arte Francisco Alcántara in Madrid. From 1985 to 2019 he developed his artistic activity in his studio in Madrid, moving to Valencia in 2020.

He has had solo exhibitions in cities such as Hamburg, Saratoga Springs-New York, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Ciudad Real, Talavera de la Reina, Puertollano, Chinchón and has taken part in group exhibitions in different foreign cities such asBraunschweigt and Diessen am Ammersee (Germany), Carouge, Geneva, Milan, Faenza, Frascati-Rome, Saratoga Springs-New York, Taipei, Taiwan, Fuping and in Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Malaga, Zaragoza, Muel, Alava, Vitoria, Irún, Castellón, Segovia, Burgos, Valladolid, Teruel, El Escorial, Alcalá de Henares, Majadahonda, Móstoles, Alcorcón, Manises, L’Alcora, Lloret de Mar, El Vendrell, Oropesa del Mar, Ciudad Real, Puertollano, and others.

He has received numerous awards and participated as Artist in Residence in 2004 and 2006 in the Summer Art Program Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, and in 2008 Artist in Residence in the FLICAM project, FuLe International Ceramic Art Museums, in Fuping, Shaanxi (China).

His work is represented in Museums and Institutions in China, Taiwan, France and Spain, and in private collections such as AENA Collection, Paideia Collection, AC Hotels in Spain, Italy and Panama, Spanish Basketball National Team, Greek Basketball National Team, and others. He has participated in important fairs in Germany, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Guipuzcoa and others.

Some of its clients include:Museo del Prado, Caixa Forum Madrid, Perfumes Loewe, Indra, World Fashion Week Paris 2014, Telefónica, PepsiCo, Johnson’s Wax Española, Ministry of Health, Mapfre Seguros, University of Alcalá, AC Hotels, Huerta de San Vicente, Spanish Olympic Committee, Spanish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, General Commissariat Expo’92 in Seville, Vitaldent, Suanfarma, Mutua Pelayo de Seguros, Artes Granda, and others.

Text: María de Andrés

Project by María de Andrés