Portuguese ceramicist creates sculptures in dialogue with ancestral memory

Inês Valenti develops hand-modelled pieces in her Estoril studio and seeks to expand her work into architecture projects

Inês Valenti develops sculptural ceramic pieces that explore organic textures and intuitive patterns. Trained in Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, the ceramicist has been working with hand-building techniques for eight years and, since 2025, maintains a studio in Estoril.

Her interest in ceramics emerged in 2017, when she began working in a studio in the region. During her academic training, clay was used solely as a support for sketches and tests for larger-scale sculptures. Through continuous practice, she gained autonomy and began to develop her own body of work.

Creative process combines planning and improvisation

The artist works exclusively with hand-building, starting from initial sketches that transform during execution. “Often the result ends up being different from what I imagined at the beginning, and that is precisely what excites me most”, she states. Beyond ceramics, she incorporates wood into her pieces, seeking balance between materials.

Her home studio provides flexibility in working hours and facilitates the creative process. “Inspiration doesn’t always appear during normal hours”, Inês explains about her decision to work from home.

PRIMORDIA collection marks return to the essential

The PRIMORDIA series brings together ceramic sculptures with soft reliefs and carved textures. The pieces function as gestural records, in which the clay assumes a corporeal presence, similar to skin that holds marks and stories.

“It is a calm return to the essential, a reunion with myself and with what has always been present in me as a woman and artist”, the ceramicist explains. The collection does not have a definitive character – it is an ongoing process of investigation into origin and instinct.

Primórdia Collection — PRIMORDIA Collection

Plans include exhibitions and partnerships

Among the main challenges of the profession are the slowness of manual work, the unpredictability of firings, and the management of the business. Inês balances creation, administration, and communication of the project.

For the future, she intends to exhibit her work and collaborate on architecture and interior design projects. The objective is to expand the scale of operation without losing the connection to the artisanal process and the identity of her work.