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Aline Luz

"My path as a sculptor began when I took a course with artist Flory Menezes [a Novica featured artist] in 1997. At that time, I was studying publicity, but the experience had so much impact that I changed my professional direction. I decided to study fine arts in the Universidade Federal, where I specialized in sculpture. Since 1999, I have worked professionally as a sculptress, showing my work in a number of galleries.

"Like most sculptors, I went through different stages and styles. In the beginning, my work was more realistic as I stayed faithful to the formal representation of the human body. Along my path, I became thoroughly acquainted with the history of art and the different ways of representing man. I identified with the proposals of modern art and lately I have been inspired by ancient art forms.

"Thousands of years ago, art had a defined function in society, frequently connected with magic. Forms were simplified and impregnated with meaning. Modern art was extremely influenced by contact with early cultures that impressed artists like Picasso, Gauguin and Braque, among others. My current work, based on earlier forms, was entirely based on the prehistoric representation of women, as much for its simplified form as for its significance. It is a simple game of circular volumes, organs and signs that can range from words to drawings.

"Apart from sculpting, I also enjoy creating jewelry and my designs follow the same path and conception as my other ceramic pieces. Inspiration comes from Brazilian cave paintings in the states of Goias and Para, and thus my designs follow this artistic path. The materials I use are from Brazil, based on ecological principles; I do not use any type of artificial dyes. All the variations of color and tone are completely natural and result from the period of time the pieces were subject to high temperatures while in kilns.

"Besides the formal question, I use the ceramic technique for my sculptures because ceramic is a millenarian art and is directly linked to primitive people. Thus I invoke the feminine essence in clay, a force that it already naturally embodies, to make my sculptures more than simple esthetic designs – to turn them into magic objects capable of emanating feminine energy.

"I believe that showing my work with Novica is a way to participate in this fantastic world of the Internet, where barriers don't exist."