IVA VIANA SCULPTURE
I V A V I A N A S C U L P T U R E A T E L I E R
Iva Viana is a Portuguese artist. She graduated in sculpture from the Fine Arts School of Porto. In her work, Iva stays true to her academic background, but as a form of her artistic expression, she chose almost disappeared craft of decorative plasterwork. It was almost a natural choice for Iva, as she comes from Viana do Castelo - the capital of Portuguese stucco. She perfected her technique and learned about plasterwork in various traditional workshops preserving the craft whose origins can be traced back to Roman times.
For centuries plaster moulding has been a craft dominated by men. Iva has studied this ancient art in the most renowned workshops in Portugal and Europe and learned that her feminine touch and fine arts background are what distinguishes her in this male dominated industry. Iva doesn't just copy existing historical projects; she doesn't have a collection of ready plaster moulds. To the contrary, she approaches every project individually, addressing the architectural style and client’s requirements.
Every piece of her plaster work has been touched by her hands, sometimes even wears her hand prints. Thanks to more sculpture-like process, Iva's works stand out among other, industrially cast plaster works - the edges are more delicate and detailed, each piece is individualised.
At Figgoscope, we fell in love with the way how Iva uses the old artisanal techniques; how humble and respectful she is towards the centuries-long tradition and how she uses this form to create her original works.
Iva’s portfolio includes commissioned plasterwork panels, designed for the Four Seasons Hotel in London, Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, pier-glass medallions for a chateau in France and decorative rosettes for a library dome in Russia. Iva recently gave a talk about her work at TEDxOporto under the theme: "Sharing between past and present".
