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Andreia Pinho

Andreia Pinho retreats from humanity to create pieces that reveal the grotesque and bizarre through wild clay harvested by hand.

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EXPLORING THE STRANGE SIDE THROUGH CLAY

The story4piecesSee the pieces

With a Master's in Fine Arts from ESAD.CR and training at CENCAL's ceramics lab, Andreia Pinho set up her workshop in Leiria, a ceramics capital, in 2021. There, she took refuge from humankind to explore its strangest and most grotesque side through wild clay.

Wild clay means that Andreia doesn't just buy the material or order it online: she harvests it herself, by hand, like a hidden treasure, across the seven corners of Portugal, venturing into secret spots we never dreamed existed.

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Andreia's work emerges from a lifelong fascination with Portuguese folklore, Iberian mythology, and cult cinema. Drawing inspiration from Lusitanian gods, legendary creatures, David Lynch, or Jodorowsky, she reinvents deeply symbolic imagery as emotion made by hand, in clay.

Her multidisciplinary practice spans ceramics, drawing, and sculpture, with works exhibited in private collections and across the country.

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The journey

Andreia Pinho

Education and Studio Foundation

A master’s graduate in Plastic Arts from ESAD.CR and an alumna of CENCAL’s Ceramics Lab, Andreia Pinho set up her workshop in 2021 in Caldas da Rainha, the Portuguese city of ceramics. There, she took refuge from humankind in order to explore its most bizarre, grotesque side through wild clay.

Raw Material: Wild Clay

Wild clay means that she doesn’t simply buy her raw material or order it online. She harvests it by hand, like a hidden gem, in the seven corners of Portugal, venturing into secret spots we never dreamed existed.

Influences and Creative Universe

Andreia’s work emerges from a lifelong fascination with Portuguese folklore, Iberian mythology and cult films. Drawing inspiration from Lusitanian gods, legendary creatures, David Lynch or Jodorowsky, she reinvents deeply symbolic imagery as handcrafted emotion, made tangible by clay.

Multidisciplinary Practice and Recognition

Her multidisciplinary practice spans ceramics, print and sculpture, with pieces in private collections and exhibited across the country.

The technique

ABOUT THE WILD CLAY

Wild clay is harvested manually by the artist in various locations throughout Portugal, offering unique plasticity and three-dimensional possibilities.

Handmade by Andreia Pinho

The pieces

Who is hiding back there? Well, who doesn't hide behind something? Andreia chose wild clay for the plasticity of its bodies and the desire to collect and make her own pigments. She is in love with the process, where malleability means freedom, a creative act with an organic texture. The result is a curious inversion of the way we live: inner demons become masks to wear on the outside, keeping the balanced features in the background. Repress normality? Shall we be bizarre? Each mask questions this duality, inviting reflection on identity and the genuine expression of the self.

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