Jefferson Aver is the creative force behind Aver Design, a Brazilian artist whose work is driven by continuous research and experimentation. He seeks to uncover the essence of each material, using it to express a wide interpretation through lighting and objects. The brand is dedicated to creating sculptural pieces that move between art and design, tradition and modernity, with a focus on local materials, especially Brazilian natural stones.

1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

Caxias do Sul, Brazil.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

In my father’s workshop, at the age of seven.

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field, and what led you to the design creation ?

Yes, my father had a small workshop and worked with carved wood, cast bronze, paintings, and other activities producing many decorative items. This small workshop is what has now become Aver Design.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

My father influenced me a lot, but curiosity and a desire to undertake are also responsible for taking me here.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

My process always starts from the inside out, creating and understanding production and craft processes with the materials I work with. I try to understand their origin and how they can be worked, and all of this is recorded. I always try to create atypical processes and try to prioritize local raw materials. Brazil is an incredible country with many natural landscapes and great biodiversity, so when I travel to these places I end up observing how nature creates shapes and finds solutions. This inspires me to shape my creations using the materials and processes that I have previously studied and recorded.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

My days are never the same, but I divide my time between supervising and guiding the artisans who work with me, and helping the sales team with the demands of custom made products from our clients. I also visit the places where quartz crystals are mined and guide the teams that select and carve the stones. I usually don’t work on the creative processes while I’m in the studio, this needs to be done in a introspective way without external interference, preferably in nature.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

Quartz is the main material I work with. It was chosen because it is an abundant material in my country, its recognized worldwide for its quality, but it was not used to its full potential. I saw an opportunity to feature my work by exploring the countless possibilities that this material has.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

Working with quartz and other natural stones is a challenge, as you need to be involved in the mining process from the very beginning. Since this is a natural material, there are several peculiarities and differences between them. You need to make sure that mining practices are respectful to nature and that your artisans respect and understand the entire process.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

Focus on learning as much as possible, be original, and embrace the place and culture you were born in. Try to give new meaning to materials and craftsmanship, respect tradition, even if you are not yet able to understand it.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

Honestly, I think my work doesn’t belong to any design movement.

11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?

Enrico Furio Dominici, Ingo Maurer, and Angelo Barovier.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

Guilherme Wentz, Sergio Rodrigues, Jader Almeida, Pietro Francheschini, Boris Klimek,

Gabriel Scott.

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

Campana Brothers. 

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Inspired and made by nature.

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

My daughter’s smile.

2. What is your greatest fear?

Living without purpose.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Impatience.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lack of character.

5. Which living person do you most admire?

Jacques Vallée.

6. What is your greatest extravagance?

Being with myself and shutting out the rest of the world for a while.

7. What is your current state of mind?

Thoughtful.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Perfectionism.

9. What is the quality you most like in a man ?

Integrity.

10. What is the quality you most like in a woman ?

Kindness.

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Please.

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

Definitely better communication skills.

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

It would definitely be expressing myself in a better way.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Understanding that the world and the nature of reality are much more deep and complex than most people can imagine.

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

A farmer with a bunch of children and a large library.

16. Where would you most like to live?

Anywhere where freedom and creativity are not suppressed.

17. What is your most treasured possession?

My Family.

18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Jealousy.

19. What is your favorite occupation?

Designer.

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

I’m a highly analytical person.

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Loyalty and independent thinking.

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, John Maynard Keynes, and George Orwell.

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

John Galt.

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Leonardo Da Vinci.

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

Healthcare workers who care for seriously ill children.

26. What are your favorite names?

Aurora and Amelia.

27. What is it that you most dislike?

Cheating.

28. What is your greatest regret?

Not having been a father before.

29. How would you like to die?

Very old, at peace, close to God, and having found the purpose of our existence.

30. What is your motto?

If you are on time, you are already late.