Nicola Contreras - Coiled Porcelain & Paintings
About Nicola
Nicola makes intuitively coiled and carved translucent porcelain vessels. By the method of making, every vessel is different. Her earlier career as a fashion designer, the settings of her studio near the marshes of the Pyefleet Estuary and house between mountains and sea near Javea in Spain, all influence her work. Following 10 years designing fashion in London and New York, and meanwhile training in ceramics, Nicola exhibited in Europe, USA, and UK including Chelsea Crafts Fair, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Designers Guild Chelsea and locally at galleries in Ingatestone, Woodbridge, Aldeburgh, Manningtree, Colchester and Mersea Island. The 2022 coloured porcelain and paintings are inspired by the hot Mediterranean mountains and sea around her house in Spain, the cool rocks and sea of the Scilly Isles, the circles and cycles of life, nature, wind and weather, and references Architecture, James Turrell Skyspaces, Mexican architect Luis Barragan and colours in Fashion design. In 2024 with the headlining dark gloom happening in the world, Nicola made a collection of vessels to recognise the light, love and colour that exists in human connections. On a personal level, the work is driven by her own connections lost and found, which can be simultaneously fragile and strong. Each work’s unique outer and inner character develops through the making process. Displayed together they form sculptures about human connection, fragility, strength and the unpredictable energy of life forces. She coils white translucent porcelain, allowing the vessel to take its own course as the shape emerges, while drawing again through the buildup of the shape. Carefully carved and scraped, she paints the textured exterior with porcelain slip, coloured with oxides and stains, slightly burnishes it with a favourite stone and contrasts with different interior colour. Then all is unpredictably affected by shrinking and gaining translucency during firing. For Messums Gallery West ‘Plates with Purpose - Make for Peace’, Nicola translated the concepts of the 3D vessels into 2D and painted them onto thinly hand formed plates, using the fragile plates for conveying ideas about 'connection', 'touch', 'love', 'dance' 'colour' and 'reconciliation' that humankind possesses and needs to use towards a peaceful world.
Coiled Porcelain
Picture 1 Turquoise/Sky £225 Green/sky £115 Turquoise/ Green £115
'Plates with Purpose - Make for Peace'
Love Plate 27 cm Translucent porcelain £142
Paintings and sketches
1.West Mersea Raven Acrylic on Canvas Framed 24x28 cm £195 2. Love Lemon Pink Acrylic on canvas 120x 100 cm £695 3. East Mersea Nightingales Acrylic on canvas 24x28 cm £195 4. East Mersea Nightingales Acrylic on canvas 120x100 cm £695
In the studio
1. Coiling a vessel 2. Carving a vessel 3. Coloured and ready to fire 4. Fired
