Laura Pasquino
Laura Pasquino is a ceramic artist based in Amsterdam whose work explores the quiet dialogue between material, form, and the natural world. Having developed her practice in Kyoto, Lisbon, and the Netherlands, she brings together diverse cultural influences through a sculptural language rooted in simplicity, balance, and craftsmanship. Her vessels and sculptures embody a restrained aesthetic, where subtle textures and organic forms evoke a sense of calm and timelessness.
Working intuitively with clay, Pasquino embraces the material’s spontaneity, allowing each piece to develop its own unique character through touch and process. Inspired by natural landscapes, geological formations, and the quiet rhythms of everyday life, she creates objects that exist between art and function. Alongside her personal artistic practice, she collaborates on commissioned works for exhibitions, architectural spaces, interior projects, and selected design brands.
Interview
I’m from Estonia. I was born in Tallinn.
My parents were passionate art collectors, and my first memory is listening to their conversation about an important painting that needed to be restored. I understood very little of it, but I still remember their excitement and their discussions in detail about each painting. Time to time, they involved me in those conversations and took me frequently to galleries and art auctions. I am very grateful for having had that experience at an early age.
Actually not. Before devoting myself to ceramics, I worked for a long time in hospitality and real estate. Totally different world. I really enjoyed it, but the dream was always to establish myself in the field of arts.
Curiosity, coincidence, and perfect timing.
Often, my creativity kicks in only when I have already started making the design. It rarely involves taking notes or drawing plans in advance. Starting to make a prototype right away, before the end result is clear, just works for me. I need to feel the material and how it forms first. Then I make changes during the creation process until I achieve the imagined result.
My day starts early, around 6 AM. Then I can get enough work done to make it on time for lunch with my husband and to walk our dog. Around 4 PM, I return to the studio and work for the rest of the evening. It is good to split the working day, so the piece that I started making in the morning has time to dry in between.
I love the texture of stoneware and how it transforms in the fire.
I try to be conscious about the amount of material I use for my creations. I make my work as thin as possible. It makes the creation process often more challenging as the material can break easily before it is fired. However, the end result is lighter and more beautiful.
Experiment as much as possible, without thinking or planning too much. A lot of good things also happen by coincidence.
Modernism.
Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Young Sook Park, Lucie Rie.
Anish Kapoor, Jil Sander, Otto Bol.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yee Sookyung, Ai Weiwei, Lucio Fontana.
Subtle, minimalist, and functional forms that resemble infinity.
Thank you for this interview.
“Experiment as much as possible, without thinking or planning too much. A lot of good things also happen by coincidence.”
The Questions
(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…)
Time with family
Loss of a loved one
Self-doubt
Greed
David Attenborough
Travelling
Focused
Balance
Kindness
Intelligence
So…
A singing voice
Being less introvert
Finding my purpose as an artist
African Elephant
Japan
My home
Depression
Afternoon nap
Quiet
Open heart & honesty
Hemingway, Irving
Dory (« Finding Nemo »)
Amelia Earhart
My father & mother
Noah, Savannah
Ignorance
Saying yes too often
In my sleep
It’s the will. Not the skill.
“I love the texture of stoneware and how it transforms in the fire.”
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