Colour As Energy by Bianca Pintan
Byron Bay-based ceramic artist Bianca Pintan draws on her love for colour and intrigue of the natural world in her latest solo exhibition, Colour As Energy, at Rainbow Studios in Sydney.
Words: Hande Renshaw | Photography: Hayley Nedland
Ceramic artist Bianca Pintan in her Byron Bay studio. Photo: Hayley Nedland
‘I form the clay into its own unique personalities, as though each piece were a person expressing its curious individuality: bold, bright and expressive. From each vibrant hue, a new emotion is to be felt, a new energy is to be experienced,’ says Bianca Pintan. Photo: Hayley Nedland
‘I like to be free to create what I feel like and be connected within my inner child when making,’ says Bianca Pintan. Photo: Hayley Nedland
When Brazil born Bianca Pintan first moved to Byron Bay in 2017, she felt a strong pull to explore ceramics – fascinated by the local ceramics community, which was a contrast to popular terracotta ceramics found in her homeland.
‘I ended up visiting a ceramic artist and getting my hand into clay for the first time and I honestly felt like I was just reconnecting with something I knew how to do and had been doing in a past life,’ says Bianca.
Since then, the self-taught artist has been completely emerged in her craft, exploring different processes and methods along the way.
‘It feels like time has passed so quickly since then, I truly love the exploration processes and perfecting the craft has come as a consequence of enjoying making and learning when making mistakes. I do feel like I’ve learned a lot so far: about art, ceramics and myself, and I feel there’s so much more to discover.’
Bianca’s latest solo exhibition, Colour As Energy, at Rainbow Studios in Sydney, is a collection of 100 unique pieces exploring her passion for colour and intrigue of the natural world.
Cultivating unique techniques to form clay, the pieces symbolise the power of colour and its influence on emotions, feelings and energy.
‘Colour As Energy came with a profound need to bring intense, bold and vivid colours to my pieces – I wanted to create something special that would speak for itself, and would make the viewer pause and admire it,’ says Bianca, ‘Each person has a colour they’re drawn to, and I love seeing this connection with my artworks.’
‘There's something special about the energy that the colours bring to the space – the more I create, the more I’m drawn to make life colourful,’ says Bianca Pintan. Photo: Hayley Nedland
‘Carving is a meditative process that I love, it adds texture and creates an amazing effect on how the light plays within the artwork,’ says Bianca Pintan. Photo: Hayley Nedland
“I can’t explain why I’m so drawn to bold colours, it’s as if they make my heart beat stronger – I always loved intensity, I like things that make me feel something, that make me feel alive.”
For Bianca Pintan, the carving process is one that is incredibly meditative. Photo: Hayley Nedland
Colour As Energy features a collection of 100 unique pieces. Photo: Hayley Nedland
For Bianca, the creative process allows her to be totally free and uninhibited, channelling her inner-child.
Although each of the stages within the making process are enjoyable for the artist, carving is something that she loves most, ‘Carving is a meditative process that I love doing, it adds texture and creates an amazing effect on how the light plays within the artwork.’
‘Once the piece is carved it can go to the shelf and dry for weeks until fully dry and ready to go to the first firing to reach 1000ºC. After that comes the magical colour process, I create my unique matte colours by mixing my secret recipes and exploring the different hues until I am truly happy with each colour,’ she adds.
Bianca’s continual exploration of colour has been a big driver for all her pieces, with inspiration gathered from organic elements, such as plant and animal life and their unequivocally contrasting colours.
One of the final parts in the creative process is usually the most nerve wrecking and one every ceramist will tell you is their make or break (literally!) moment.
‘After a patient waiting journey for the kiln to cool down, one of the most rewarding moments arrives, opening the kiln, after all this process it's something that gets me really excited, it's a revelation moment. So then the pieces are finally ready, anywhere from a few weeks till a couple of months since the process started.’
To share the wonderful tactility and full expression of this medium, the surface of the vessels are painted and left unglazed - leaving the raw ceramic, which feels smooth to touch, yet allows the natural elements to shine.
Colour As Energy opens to the public at Rainbow Studios this Saturday August 6th from 9am-12pm with hot filter and cold brew from Loggerhead Coffee and from 12pm-4pm enjoy a free glass of vino and refreshments. You can also pick up a complimentary bunch of poppies with each vase purchase.
COLOUR AS ENERGY AT RAINBOW STUDIOS
OPENING TO THE PUBLIC SATURDAY 6TH AUGUST
348 Liverpool Street Darlinghurst, Sydney
