Interviews
Key insights on decor and interior design from Lladró and Prestige Global Designs
Carnival in Venice has been described as Lladró’s greatest artistic and technical challenge. Why is this so?
This is the first time we have created such an imposing piece. It’s a monumental work, with a creative process that involved five years of research and testing. It took that long to develop because of the many characters that make up the tableau. There are 14 different characters inspired by the [Italian theatre form] commedia dell’arte. We call the piece the highest level of porcelain because of its complexity—more than 22,000 hours of work by 35 artists and around 450 fragments went into giving life to this creation. The fragments are joined together and painted before entering the kiln. In the firing process, the pieces undergo a reduction in size of around 15 per cent due to water loss. Therefore, succeeding in keeping the right proportions of the pieces, especially of the bridge and the boat, is a great achievement. Decoratively speaking, new colours were added to Lladró’s palette such as the deep red of the Venetian merchant Pantalone’s costume and the blue hue of the textured dress on the Lady on the Steps. Another tour de force is the canal water—its foamy effect was achieved with a colour created just for this piece and involved a painstaking process of sponging by hand to remove excess varnish.
What do you like most about this piece?
I like that the viewer is immersed in the scene—a part of the carnival and the action. You can almost hear the rhythmic sounds of the violin and lute, and the water’s soft murmur. The composition conveys the exuberance and atmosphere of the carnival, and there’s a lot of action taking place among the characters in the scene.
What is the best part about being president of Lladró?
I work with an amazing group of creative people. A large team of craftsmen contribute to developing Lladró sculptures—with sculptors, painters, ornamentalists, flower artists and master firers, there are always ideas in the air. We often have three generations of a family working for us. Sometimes, they’re inspired by their own lives. Discovering the World, for
example, is a piece inspired by a sculptor’s young daughter. Then I get to travel and show off these beautiful pieces around the world.
Lladró is often associated with classical styles. How are you addressing modern tastes?
We have always worked within the same porcelain tradition but our styles can be experimental. We’ve collaborated with the likes of American contemporary artist Gary Baseman as well as British fashion designer Paul Smith for The Guest series. We’ve also gone into new areas such as jewellery. We have a new audience that speaks a new language, but certain themes are enduring. For instance, we continue to recreate the statue of a mother and child because it’s a story that still resonates.