Lisbon based design studio, Pedrita, has been active in the arts since 2005. Founded by Rita João and Pedro Ferreira, Pedrita’s team is brought together according to the needs of each unique project. Their multidisciplinery approach sees the exploration of a large variety of materials throughout their works.
For the Tile Addict, the most impressive of their creations are the tile portraits, examples of which stretch back to 2007. “Grão” was first and foremost a project aimed at giving new life to discontinued, mass produced tiles. Using the tiles as ‘pixels’ and taking advantage of the curves, lines, patterns, and colours, an image is produced. The resulting work can be appreciated up close, as each individual tile can be recognised and observed, and most importantly can be admired from afar as the image becomes clear.
Testing the perspective of the “Still Life” reproduction occurred at the National Tile Museum in Lisbon to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founder, Engineer Santos Simões in 2007. Since then the “Grão” technique has been used in various additional projects, such as the Muscovy Duck mural made up of 50 by 150mm tiles sourced from over 10 factories.
Their artworks have also been exhibited in solo shows in art galleries, such as Best Guess for this image in 2015, and Lost and Found from 2018. They have also produced pieces for public spaces including a cafe and a hotel. The image chosen for the hotel was done to specifically to pay homage to the building’s history as a former convent. The woman depicted is queen Catarina, who would have lived in the convent in the 1600s.
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, January 2020.