Lucas Nicolao

Ceramicist

©Alejandro Araya

Textures and colours to challenge dynamics

Making vibrant sculptures is Lucas' second career
His pieces incorporate materials from the region where he lives
His work is inspired by interpersonal relationships

After many years of practising as a clinical psychologist, Lucas Nicolao began his training in ceramics with two long-time master potters in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With them, he learned the potter's wheel technique and basic notions about ceramic materials. In 2017 he travelled to Portugal and the UK where he took specialisation courses in other ceramic techniques such as pinching, coiling, slab building, mould making and slipcasting at atelier Olho in Lisbon and Turning Earth in London. Since 2018, he lives in Santiago de Chile where he has established his workshop and expanded his training through courses and workshops on ceramic chemistry, paste formulation, engobes and glazes with different local and international masters. “My work emerges as a response to the tensions and movements of the territory in which I live. I have always lived in big cities and I feel that my work seeks to reflect the phenomena of human dynamics in big cities,” Lucas says.

Interview

©Alejandro Araya

©Alejandro Araya

What attracts you to clay?: It is a privileged natural material because, due to its plasticity, it can adopt new forms and remain in them. The ceramic craft implies a know-how with this quality of clay to obtain its maximum value. This implies a broad knowledge of the materials, their properties and the creative techniques that make it possible to transform the earth into an object.
Why did you choose ceramics?: I find the transformative ability of the ceramic craft fascinating and it made me choose it as a profession. I also find in ceramic sculpture a unique possibility for narrative expression to convey a message through a language of shapes, volumes and colours.
What place does colour occupy in your work?: It occupies a central place. I believe that colours are tools that allow us to transmit sensations that bring a strong emotional value to the pieces. In general, I work with coloured pastes and I do not tend to use glazes. The colouring of the pastes is one of the hallmarks of my pieces.
What methodology do you use for this?: I carry out numerous tests of combinations of different oxides and colouring pigments, until I find the palette of tones that I want to use in each sculpture or collection. Although in my designs I imagine a combination of colours for each piece, many times it is experimentation that surprises me with new options.

Lucas Nicolao is a rising star: he began his career in 2016