António Ramalho

Born in 1969, in Barcelos, António Ramalho grew up with clay under his fingernails and, at just 8 years old, sold a small clay horse he had made to a Spanish tourist. Son of Júlia Ramalho and great-grandson of Rosa Ramalho - two of the most iconic names in the history of Portuguese ceramics - António learned to sculpt as one learns a family craft.

The years he spent in England and France gave him perspective, but it was in 2004 that he returned home to continue the family tradition - not to repeat it, but to reinvent it. A balance between honouring the legacy and finding his own voice.

António's work is imaginative and expressive. It blends inherited forms, traditional clay figures from Barcelos, and a peculiar cast of surreal creatures coated in a vitreous, green texture - one of his signature marks. His pieces have been exhibited from the Museum of Braga Cathedral to contemporary galleries such as RAMPa in Porto, where he has collaborated with younger artists.