Paola De Narvaez’s work revolves around themes of nature, movement, and the sculptural quality of objects. The interplay between form and drawing is a recurring motif in her artistic practice.
The expression of movement in her work emerges through contrasts between blur and sharpness, and through the dynamic, sculpted forms that give her pieces their vitality.
Light and the passage of time form another central theme in her work. The perpetual transformation of each piece —through its illumination and the way its volume invites a three-dimensional reading— continues to fascinate the artist.
These themes come to life in works that sit at the crossroads of decorative art and fine art. Each vase and wall piece she creates is unique, reflecting her deep fascination with portraiture and nature. Organic, fluid forms interact with a range of textures—matte and glossy, soft, smooth, or rough—creating a rich sensory dialogue.
Her approach is intuitive, sensitive, and fluid. It begins with material and form, gradually unfolding into an intricate interweaving of her recurring subjects.
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Paola De Narvaez was born and raised in Paris to a French mother and a Colombian father, both wholeheartedly immersed in the realms of art and design.
Illustrative foundations
From her mother—a graphic designer working for magazines—Paola learned to understand and engage with aesthetics and trends. She spent her weekends and holidays with her father—a large-scale canvas painter—in the artistic enclave of Montreuil, browsing through art books (Velázquez, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Géricault, Ingres…) and exploring anatomy, composition, and drawing.
“As a child and teenager, drawing was my primary form of expression, long before writing. I felt naturally compelled to draw every day, to organize my ideas and to explain my thoughts to others.”
Always surrounded by art and design, Paola never considered working in any other field. She studied Textile design in Paris at ESAA Duperré and Mastered in Graphic Design and Communication at ENSAV La Cambre in Brussels (2018). In the past few years, she worked for fashion brands Essentiel Antwerp, Bellerose, Atelier Crump. She also worked as an illustrator for City of Brussels, The Royal Museum for Central Africa of Tervuren, magazine La Grande Oreille, TedXParis 2018 and 2019 editions, and many others.
Ceramic art
In 2016 Paola discovered the craft of ceramics in the South of France. She felt a deep intuition that it could reveal new dimensions of creativity to her. “Merging illustration and ceramics felt like a natural evolution. I find it immensely satisfying to make shapes, drawings, textures and colors interact with each other and constitute a unique world within one single piece of art.” Her Pao Ceramic collections have been featured in various shops in Europe, like Tangerine Sunshine (Antwerp), The Ode To (Stockholm) and Yonobi (Copenhagen).
Paola collaborated with the Mayer Van Den Bergh museum shop in Antwerp to create bespoke ceramic pieces, inspired by the permanent collection of the Dutch and Flemish masters. She also participated in the 2022 “1000Vases” exhibition in Paris.
Paola De Narvaez lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
Ceramic art teaching
Not long after taking hand-building ceramics classes at Sukoon Studio in Antwerp, Paola became one of the studio’s teachers herself, specializing in hand-building ceramics and, more specifically, painting on clay. Paola’s painting on clay workshop focuses on learning how to paint with engobes, how to layer colors and create beautiful designs on clay. She teaches students how to build tableware objects and how to paint illustrations on them. The workshop became part of Sukoon Studio’s offering in 2021 and has gained popularity thanks to its unique proposition and supportive learning environment.
Want to work with Paola De Narvaez?
Paola is always open to new creative adventures.
