‘Loretta is one of the few artists who can combine outstanding forms with a range of fascinating surface techniques to produce her distinctive and singular sculptural pieces’. - Ruth Corman, Corman Arts, London
In this body of work there are seven ‘real’ fruits - dragon, star, pineapple, jack, cashew, persimmon and berry and four ‘imagined’. Together they provide the perfect canvass to display Braganza’s vibrant artistic energy and soaring inventiveness.
The idea of contrasts is conceptually simple. It is only in the complex and innovative process of making that these conceptually exciting possibilities are revealed.
Shimmer and Empty Vessels are loosely based on traditional Indian clay and metal vessel forms. Clay burnished to metal, the mark making imitates the quick, rhythmic strokes of the metal worker.
The Twelve Apostles - now in York Art Gallery’s permanent collection, were inspired by the
glorious sea stacks on the Great Ocean Road which stretches from Melbourne to Adelaide in Australia. They capture the interaction of sea, foam, spray, strata and wind.
Turning Stones was inspired by the gravity- defying volcanic boulders that surround the Tungabhadra River in Hampi, South India. They can be positioned in different ways – changing their dynamics and viewer experience – reflecting a spiritual journey veering from doubt to certainty.
Transitions used the parallel expressions of geometric ceramics and related illustrations to explore a story of creation based on aboriginal legends. The fine markings on both mediums reflect the power of intrinsic elemental forces
In Forms Remembered - childhood memories of tropical fruits - the pure colour base was technically challenging as any blip, blister or craze is cruelly revealed. This was the first time materials such as lead, silver, glass and copper were used to enhance these sculptural forms.
In Articulated Forms lines are spontaneously drawn into the clay using fine implements and infilled with coloured slip. The finely etched rhythmic patterns recall woodcuts and hieroglyphics.
Fusion incorporates elements of movement and displacement, constructed from interlocking sections. The inserted element can be removed and placed alongside the other to form a pair, so changing the dynamics of the piece
In Elemental Vessels layers of slip were applied to a base colour and then scrapped off revealing crazing and cross hatching of lines creating the effect of an ancient patina.
Genesis are large sculptural forms – an assertion of the timeless life cycle where the male and female principles are evident. They capture the colours of the natural world.
