Cristina Mato

I like to think of what I do as sewing with clay. The thin slabs of clay are the fabric, which I cut into threads to build structures full of seams, very much like a seamstress working at her mannequin.

Paperclay gives me the possibility to defy the laws of physics and push my pieces to the limit. The colour helps define the pattern and adds drama to the composition. For a brief period of time, my pieces stand proud and symmetric, ready to face the kiln, which will make them more humble and do its magic to give them movement and flow. The light will do the rest, printing on the wall a net of shadows trying to escape from the seams.

Sewing with clay. A whole revelation to see how my childhood games between scraps of fabric, pins, and scissors have shaped my artistic expression. I find joy in the creative process, the fact that from a formless lump of clay I can build something original and meaningful that was not there before, or better still, it was already there, just waiting to be discovered.

-- Cristina Mato

I started to be interested in ceramics in 2010, and for my training I attended pottery courses at Escuela Municipal de Artes Plásticas y Escénicas de Oviedo, Spain. Since 2015 I have taken part in several individual and collective exhibitions.

Ceramic Art Andenne 2022 – “Visions” Thematic exhibition, Andenne, Belgium

Finalist at Premios ArtsFAD 2021 – Disseny Hub, Barcelona, Spain

Finalist at 15o Premio Nacional de Cerámica “Ciutat de Castelló” 2020, Castellón, C. Valenciana, Spain

Finalist at CICA 2020 – 40th Concurso Internacional de Cerámica de L’Alcora, Alcora, Spain

Finalist at 10th El Vendrell International Ceramics Biennale, El Vendrell, Tarragona, October 2019

4th Cluj International Ceramics Biennale, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, October 2019

Finalist at 19 Biennal de Cerámica d’Esplugues Algelina Alós, Barcelona, October 2018

European Ceramic Context 2018 – Open Call, Bornholm, Denmark.

— Cristina Mato