Renato Costa e Silva

Ceramicist

The island explorer

Renato found ceramics after exploring iron, wood and stone
He builds his own high-temperature wood-fired kilns
He experiments daily using volcanic material from the Azores

Renato is more than a ceramicist. He is also a kiln builder, an author, a teacher and an explorer. He left his island of birth, the Azores, at 20 to study architecture in Canada but quickly realised that academia did not satisfy his temperament. Back home he experimented with iron, wood, stone and ceramics. He eventually chose ceramics and builds his own wood-fired kilns. “I wanted to make hand-built sculptures and tried different materials with different masters. I found clay the most fascinating as it is the most receptive one,” he says. An expert in clay and ceramics, his pieces, unique tables and sculptures, are regularly exhibited in Portugal and abroad and can be seen in public spaces in the Azores.

Interview

Is your work closely connected to your homeland?: For sure. I use local volcanic materials and wood for the firing. The clay and ceramic materials are very diverse in the Azores and I never stop researching and writing about my findings. I receive ceramicists from as far away as Japan who want to learn and use our materials.
What is your approach to ceramics?: I see ceramics as a whole process. I pay attention to all steps, from formulating and preparing my own clay bodies and natural glazes to using the potter’s wheel for modelling and moulding, ending with the high-temperature wood firing of the work.
In what way does your work reflect innovation?: I see myself as an explorer, continuously searching for an improvement in materials and wood firing techniques. I try to optimise traditional forms, functionality, materials and production processes, emphasising fluidity and hand-created markings. It’s endless.
What inspires you most?: Nature. I love to be surrounded by the exuberant Azorean vegetation, to hear the silence in my second home Cerdeira in the Lousã mountains. Inspiration also comes from my interest in philosophy and astronomy, or from the sharing of knowledge with other artists, the hard work and enjoyment of a wood firing.

Renato Costa e Silva is a master artisan: he began his career in 1980 and he started teaching in 1990