OUR KIND: Your Craft with Alice Quaresma
At KIND Collection, we love connecting with customers who are making an impact in the world of creativity. In our Our KIND: Your Craft series, we shine a light on individuals whose passions and stories resonate with our values of sustainability, artistry, and individuality.
This week, we're thrilled to feature Alice Quaresma, an accomplished artist who blends photography and painting in her work. Alice's art delves into themes of place, cultural experience, and the fluidity of memory, exploring how we perceive and reimagine our surroundings. Last year, we were honoured to design a bespoke pink sapphire wedding ring for Alice, a piece that reflects her distinctive style and artistic spirit. The ring serves as a meaningful symbol of her journey, blending elegance and a touch of colour in a way that is uniquely hers.
Alice’s work is currently on show at a solo exhibition in New York, at Pablo’s Birthday Gallery. If you live locally or are visiting NYC between November 14th – December 20th, we encourage you to visit the gallery and see her incredible work for yourself.
We are excited to share this blog with you, and we hope you love learning about Alice's story, her art, and the ways she brings her vision to life.
Your work beautifully blends photography and painting to explore themes of place and memory. Can you share what inspired you to start merging these two mediums?
The inspiration came from my desire to create a presence over images that I have photographed in my hometown, Rio de Janeiro. By living abroad over the years, I became interested in reading books and exploring artworks that dealt with the idea of home and belonging, which lead me to the body of work I do today. The geometrical colour marks were inspired by an art movement that happened in Brazil in the late 50’s called Neo-Concrete. At the moment, you can see the show of one of these artists at Whitechapel gallery in London, her name is Lygia Clark.
Memory is a central theme in your work. How do you approach the concept of memory in your art, and how do you decide which memories to depict?
My works explore memory as an emotional connection to the past. I use my memory from my childhood in Rio to guide me into rebuilding landscapes that carries elements that gives sense of belonging.
Can you tell us about a recent project or piece that challenged you creatively? How did you approach and overcome that challenge?
Whenever I make the decision to print large size images it feels more challenging, the work askes more physical involvement. All my works stays up on my studio wall or table for some time, so the bigger format pieces are more intrusive and it’s harder for me to create a separation from the work. The artwork “That Surreal Country” is one of my recent pieces that I had most challenges with but now when I look at it I feel captivated by it. I believe this work can transcend the decay of the original negative and my personal connection with the image. Between its abstract colour elements with gouache paint and the sunset in the background, this work brings a moment in time that we can all relate to.
We had the pleasure of creating a bespoke pink sapphire wedding ring for you. Can you share the story behind why you chose this particular design and stone?
I discovered Tansy’s work in 2019. At that time, I lived in NY, the pandemic happened, and plans changed and I end up getting a wedding band locally. In 2023 my husband and I moved to London and my wedding band was giving me allergy so I had to stop wearing it. It was the perfect moment to reach out to Tansy. I couldn’t be happier with my ring. It feels special to wear a ring made by Tansy. Pink is the colour that brings me balance, so this is the reason I wanted a pink stone. I chose to go with a wide flat band with a pink stone on top, with mine and my husband initials as well as our wedding date engraved on the right side of the stone. Tansy suggested a round space on the band to accommodate my engagement ring to sit perfectly. The final result is a timeless celebratory ring for my husband and I, made with an ethos that I strongly believe in.
The process of creating bespoke jewellery is much like creating art — intimate and personal. How did you find the experience of collaborating on your wedding ring design?
It was great! Tansy navigated the communication process with us so well! She made sure we felt part of it. We brought her our idea and we let her share her vision to create the ring. When I work with creative people, I want to give space for their creativity.
You often explore themes of place and memory in your art. How do these themes relate to the jewellery you wear, particularly your KIND Collection ring?
All of my jewellery has been gifts from my family. I mainly wear jewellery that mom used to wear, and she has been passing on to me over time. The generational memory is present on each piece I wear. Jewellery is the most intimate object I carry and wear with me. Each piece is filled with stories, and they bring me close to my family.
My wedding band is a piece that has been created to remember a special date for me and my husband. My relationship with jewellery is about family, memory and carrying. So having Tansy create all her jewellery by hand and with sustainable materials is something that I believe in and treasure.
At KIND Collection, we value craftsmanship and the slow, thoughtful process of creating jewellery. How do you relate to these values in your own artistic practice?
All creative process needs to come from within the artist’s truth, curiosity and work process – meaning, creativity relies on a unique way of perceiving time. The process of creating the work is the most magical part of it including the materials we choose to work with. Tansy’s process is one I admire and respect, all of her jewellery is handmade using sustainable materials and Fairtrade certified stones! The material aspect is very much attached to the story that a piece of jewellery will carry. I am looking forward to designing another piece of jewellery with her. I think it will be another ring, something I haven’t done before.