For Valeria Vasi, making is a form of exchange — between designer and artisan, intention and technique, material and hand.
Born in Moscow and based in Barcelona, Vasi came to design after a long trajectory in fashion, gradually shifting her attention towards material research and artisanal processes. Today, her practice moves across art, design and contemporary craftsmanship, with each project developing through direct engagement with materials and the people who know how to transform them.
Collaboration with local artisans is fundamental to her process. Rather than treating craftsmanship simply as a means of production, Vasi approaches it as an ongoing dialogue and a space for shared experimentation. Working primarily with iron, wood and stainless steel, alongside glass and ceramics, she allows the properties and limitations of each material to influence the direction of the work.
Her process is deliberately slow: observing, testing, adjusting and learning through making. New techniques are introduced from one project to the next, continually expanding her material vocabulary. The resulting objects have a distinctly sculptural character, shaped by tensions between weight and balance, texture and surface, precision and the traces of fabrication.
Vasi’s work has been presented internationally in Tokyo, Paris, Madrid and Milan. While operating within an international context, her practice remains closely connected to local knowledge, craftsmanship and the possibilities that emerge through working directly with matter.
Selected exhibitions with SM Bureau
Silent Structures, Paris, 2026
Available works upon request.
