Painting by Maria Ana Vasco Costa

Maria Ana Vasco Costa’s practice explores connections between ceramic material and the fragment, shaped by a personal archive of memories and perceptions of nature. Sculptures in glazed ceramics evoke geological formations of other landscapes, exploring colour, depth, temperature, variation, and sound. In her Glaze Drawings series, Costa reimagines the solidity of stone through watercolour, applied in the manner of ceramic glaze: fluid, layered and unpredictable. The process is ritualistic, akin to a photographic development process, gradually revealing a visual depth and texture. Each square format drawing references to the traditional ceramic tile; within the defined shape, there is potential for expansion, a formal and chromatic freedom that questions and amplifies the limits of the original format. Notable exhibitions include ARCOlisboa, Lisbon, (2021); Ice Ice Baby, Appleton, Lisbon, (2021); Água d´Alto, Galeria Municipal de Arte, Almada, (2019); Pintura: Campo de Observação, Galeria Cristina Guerra, Lisbon (2021) and Pitching itself a tent where we all may enter, Quetzal Art Centre, Vidigueira, (2021).