08/10/2017

Dense fog in slow motion..
Small island moves like a cloud in the deep see of the unconscious mind.
Fluidity, intuition..”sangkalpa”!!!
Transformation.
Lucid emptiness..infinite possibility.
Is it a shadow? Inner child?
No identification but they talk..
No judgement but they talk..what are they saying?
A sense of protection starts to rise..it’s not so clear its presence anymore..

It was a great pleasure for me to exhibit Swan Dream at the Ateneo de Madrid, the first art work of my new series. Thanks again to Paola Trevisan and Rosa Mascarell for organising another great show. Creative beautiful works, great people in an amazing venue with the perfect artistic atmosphere. ...more

07/06/2017

Many thanks Luciana Franzolin for inviting me to participate in the LPS Blog. It's always nice to have the opportunity to share my journey. Thanks again for the inspiration..Link text here...

03/05/2017

New art exhibition coming soon!!
Curated by Paola Trevisan (Italy) and Rosa Mascarell (Spain). This time in Madrid, a city that I keep amazing memories since I left in 2009, after living for nearly 3 years. Lots of work ahead! Happy and inspired..

28/11/2016

Why going through such long, complex and convoluted theories trying to reach the ideal of equality for all people when the answer is so close and obvious? We are all imperishable souls, pure energy, a point of bright spiritual light. In our most basic natural and original state we are all a source of love, peace and joy. We are not our race, our colour, our gender, our sexuality, our nationality, our religion, our class, our wealth, our philosophy or our political choices. The human beings have long forgotten who they really are. We are already all equal but have no such awareness, rather we chose the path of discrimination, betrayal, lust, attachment, greed, hatred and war. We are living in an era where our Ego guides us to a state where we have no connection with our soul or that of others, miles away from our True Self.

The Equalitarian Light represents the true nature of the human being - pure bright spiritual light - blurred by a dysfunctional and struggling society. The world is a stage and we are all actors. No matter which role we play in this “stage drama”, we are all a point of light. We must become fully aware of this in order to connect to one another in peace and harmony and establish a fair, tolerant and balanced global society, overcoming the rough edge of differences.

It's now just a “stage drama”.. at the end we ALL go to the same home. ...more

01/11/2016

I am thrilled!!!! One of my artworks was short listed and will be exhibited in the Brazilian Embassy in London between 16 of November and 8 of December.

The Spiritual Utopia - The equalitarian light (title of the work) was selected as one of the 30 shorted listed artworks of the Ibero American Arts Award competition - Link text here...... - amongst artists from Portugal, Spain and all of the Latin American Countries.

The theme of the exhibition is UTOPIAS and it will gather paintings, sculptures, drawings and photography. The judges who will decide on the winners are international artists, art lecturers and curators of renown galleries such as Tate, Tate Modern, The Whitechapel Gallery and Fundació Joan Miró.

I am extremely happy with this recognition. It is a privilege to be short listed and exhibit my work together with other Ibero-American artists.

The exhibition will be open to the public on the 16 of November to 8 of the December from 11am to 6 pm. Hope you enjoy it!!!

14 – 16 Cockspur Street, SW1Y 5BL - Brazilian Embassy - Sala Brasil (just off Trafalgar Square)

01/06/2016

Great opening night in Hamburg. Full house and warm atmosphere. Thanks to Marion Zimmermann, the gallery owner, for the great work pulling this show together. It's always a pleasure to work with top level professionals and great artists from around the world. Thanks again to you all. ...more

13/04/2016

For the past 6 years I have been working on a number of different projects. During this time, I’ve been researching about perception,  "reality vs imagination”.
I am happy to have the opportunity to showcase some of these projects together, specially the last three which have not yet been exhibited.
Marziart Internationale Galerie - Hamburg, Germany
From 22nd of April until 20th of May.

17/06/2015

It's a pleasure to upload a new work onto Saatchi Art. This new artwork belongs to the Sculptures from Nature series. I would love to hear you feedback..

http://www.saatchiart.com/val_masferrer_oliveira ...more

08/09/2014

"Creativity takes root in messy procedures."
It took a lot of research…forwards and backwards but finally Maya Project got to the end, translating once more my personal view about life..reality and imagination…capturing how I feel about them..capturing experience..responding to what I am seeing through my own lenses. Quite excited with the outcome! ...more

28/07/2014

…” Val's perspective is unique in my experience. Her camera may capture broad vistas, but her photographer's eye select the detail that make her images personal and exceptional."...
Christine Debany - Gallery Director

I am excited to share with you the new catalogue from Dubaigne Fine Art exclusively featuring 40 images of one of my projects, Moods around the World. I am happy to see that my work in this project is achieving the main purpose I had when I originally envisaged it.
Link text here... ...more

15/04/2014

Unbelievable but is already mid April…very busy around here with new project in October..and continuing another one started last year. I am also very excited to prepare the images for the next Dubaigne Fine Art catalog. It will only feature my work!!! 38 images from the collection Moods Around the World. The catalog will be published in June but here is a little flavour for you.. ...more

23/03/2014

To take part in Variations it was a pleasure but to win the Public Choice Award..honestly, I wasn't expecting this. Wining the Public Choice Award in Variations is so important to me because it is very genuine. Thanks for all who voted for my work. Thanks again to Trevisan International for organising such a great show. Now you can check the official link of the event: Link text here… ...more

12/03/2014

Lovely to meet so many interesting people and soak the perfect New York Soho vibe! Great start for all of us. ...more

26/01/2014

Proud to have my work chosen among others to be included in an article of a top Swiss magazine, RivierArt. This article features 10 years of Trevisan International Art, with whom I had the pleasure to work with last year. I want to congratulate Paola Trevisan for her hard work.
Link text here... ...more

03/01/2014

Good start for 2014!!! Moods around the World project will feature again in Dubaigne Fine Art Show. This time on the Winter Show - Hot and Cold. In total, five art works will be presented from the 15th of January:
Sand Sea, Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan*
Desert Rose, Zarzis, Tunisia
Stripes in the Desert, Sahara Desert, Tunisia
The Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland
Midday Cactus, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

*shown on this page ...more

25/12/2013

Feeling special to be part of the Art Journal publication. Three full page article about Variations, International Exhibition in Bologna, last november. Again, great to be among 72 artist of 30 different countries, to take part at the Art Journal and, specially, to win the Public Choice Award. It was an amazing year! A lot to celebrate!! Hope you're having a great Holiday Season. Stay in touch. I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be the year… ...more

18/11/2013

The opening night of the exhibition Variations in Bologna was great!
72 artists from 30 different countries, most of which were painters and sculptures. It was special to see my photographic work among theirs. Thanks to Paola Trevisan for organising the event. ...more

20/10/2013

Counting down the days for 'Variations' exhibition next month, in Bologna, Italy!
I developed a whole new body of work for this event, called 'Sculptures from Nature'. 'Flowers in the Sea' is the first series of this new body of work, where I concentrate the composition in certain elements instead of the real context. The four art works that I am going to present are already printed in metallic paper and mounted in aluminium...sooo excited!!

'….they sound so strong and ferocious when calling me…. wild yet human…flowers in the sea. ...' ...more

16/10/2013

I am happy to take part on another show at Dubaigne Fine Art, Dubaigne's Autumn 2013 show
"Bridges & Buildings" on ISSUU.

From the majestic Mosque in Bethlehem, Palestine to the modern Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain and the extraordinary 'rock houses', Berber troglodyte underground building, in Matmata, Tunisia...any religion, all cultures...one world. Around the world...
http://issuu.com/dubaigne/docs/autumn_2013. ...more

22/09/2013

Victorian Twisted, 2012 - From 'Through the Present' project, where the present tells the history...Victorian architecture reflected in metal sculpture. This project explores reflections of the past through images of the present.

Besides the International Contemporary Artists Vol. VI that was published in May and it is being sold through Amazon.com since then, recently I was also invited to published some of my artworks at the Creative Energy Art Catalogue, which is a biennial publication made by Trevisan International Art. The catalog will be selling through Amazon.com soon.
Link text here... ...more

17/09/2013

Trilled to be working with a Brazilian writer and teacher, Gracia Lockwood, in her first book. Also very happy to be working in this project with a personal friend, Luciana Amaral, who is going to add a lot to it with her background in phycology and her passion for photography. The title will be published in Portuguese and the work is focused on London. ...more

03/09/2013

Working in a new theme for the "Variations" exhibition, Bologna,16-28 November, 2013.
...'….they sound so strong and ferocious when calling me...wild yet human...flowers in the sea.'
Link text here... ...more

23/06/2013

Confesso que tomei o convite da ABC Trust (Action for Brazil's Children Trust) como um dever. Não poderia dizer não nunca, afinal trata-se do meu país. Se é perigoso para mim o que será para aqueles que são reconhecidos como estrangeiros? ...more

15/05/2013

I am very pleased to be part of the 6th edition of International Contemporary Artists with my two pieces "Under Water Bridge" and "Shades of the Dead Sea".
"It exists because I see it" was a project I started last year. It is much more related to my inner-side than to reality itself. ...more

19/04/2013

Boat Art Exhibition - from April 15th through July 15th at Dubaigne Fine Art -

http://dubaigne.com/currentexhibition.html ...more

17/04/2013

Rocinha was an amazing experience. So much to learn to be able to tell the right story. I researched about Rocinha for almost 5 weeks and I discovered that there are even private school up there. Unbeliveble! I meet extraordinary people that are taking care of a group of children. The place that I went to visit, the kinder garden of UPMMRS - União Pró Melhoramento das Mulheres da Roupa Suja - is located in the poorest neighbourhood of Rocinha, even so I could feel the nice and calm atmosphere of motherhood and the smell of baby lotion everywhere. Thanks to this kind of people we are able to get our Brazilian children out of the streets for a better future. Congratulations to ABC Trust to support this project.

April is already here and it seems exciting too...still do not know if I am going to cover it by foot or flying :) ...more

15/04/2013

It was a cold and raining night but ABC - Action for Brazil's Children fundraised about 16,000 GBP through the Big City Sleep 2013 event at Spitalfield Market in London. The night was great fun with Samba School, Capoeira and lots more. For full flavour of the event, check:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151383887391347.1073741825.7497311346&type=1

Artwork by Will Laverton https://www.facebook.com/willartwork?fref=ts ...more

06/03/2013

Please take a minute to help us spread the word about this year's event to anyone you think may be interested in taking part.

For more information:
http://www.abctrust.org.uk/index.php/news/blog/425-big-city-sleep-2013
For donations:
http://www.abctrust.org.uk/index.php/donate ...more

17/01/2013

Nobody should ever need to sleep on the street, especially a child. However, on 15 March 2013, ABC Trust will be doing exactly that to raise vital funding and awareness for our work with the street children and most vulnerably young people of Brazil.

ABC Trust's annual sponsored sleep-out at London's Spitalfields Market is back for the 5th year, having raised almost £40,000 to date. This year, in partnership with the Street Child World Cup, we hope to see as many of you on the floor as possible.

With an evening of Brazilian entertainment, including a capoeira performance, a live samba band and a Brazilian dance class, plus a chance to learn more about ABC's work in Brazil, the Big City Sleep is about coming together to show our support and solidarity for thousands of vulnerable children.

We have been really touched by the great effort that so many have made with their fundraising over the past couple of years and always find the atmosphere on the night of the event to be very inspiring. ...more

12/01/2013

It is an interesting experience to try to create landscapes totally detached from reality. I really enjoy playing around with my imagination....to free myself from all the rules and let it go...shoot according to what I am seeing at that moment. It is an amazing exercise, I invite you to try it! As I say: it exists because I see it. Travel with me. Look at the Imagination Gallery. ...more

15/12/2012

A working life: The freelance photographer
What it’s like to be a freelance photographer in London? “For me everything emphasizes design and photography”.

-Monday 12th November 2012

Val Masferrer Oliveira tells stories of moods around the world through her photography.

Val is a Brazilian freelance photographer based in London since 2009. She is a fine art photographer and her field of special interest is landscape photography from different corners of the world.
From being called paparazzi to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, her work is certainly a constant conceptual challenge – “I don’t just like to shoot things, I like to have a concept behind it and to really put myself into it… anyone can click”.

Val went to university in Maryland where she studied Social Communication and took her first photography course. She then moved back to Rio de Janeiro and continued studying, she took an extra year of consumer psychology in order to truly understand how the mind works, “…it’s so funny how we buy things,” she adds. After doing an MBA in Marketing she successfully worked in the Advertising industry for sixteen years. “Photography has always been my hobby since 1982 when I took the first course. It’s something that has been with me my whole life but I never thought I’d do it professionally because it meant that I would need to follow a lot of rules that I didn’t like.”

When Val first moved to Europe in 2003 it was only going to be for two years, and considering her hectic lifestyle she considered doing something completely different. That was when she decided to get a Bachelor of Technology Degree at the Inchbald Institute of Design in London, “I started studying design as a hobby but it turned to be my passion. As soon as I finished I had a couple of jobs, but my husband had to move on again with work, this time to Madrid!” Although admittedly this was a positive experience for her, it was hard to drop everything all over again and have to start from scratch once more. “I felt like a phoenix always having to resurrect from my ashes and reinvent myself.” In Madrid she studied design at the Istituto Europeu di Design, but two years later she moved back to London. Having finally found something adaptable to her lifestyle she settled with photography –“it was an opportunity for me to start something I could continue.”
The turning point of her photography career was in 2010 when she was invited by Dubaigne Fine Art New York to exhibit and sell her work. She thought to herself “why not? This is flexible and I could do this for living. For me the most important thing is to be able to create, even when I am cooking in my kitchen. If I couldn’t create… I think I would die.” That was when she decided to explore photography artistically and professionally.

Val’s work routine consist of shooting at least one day each week, usually two, and she always goes running in Hyde Park before to set her mind into focus – “I work daily but I depend very much on the weather when it comes to shooting, as I am mainly interested in the outdoors and nature.” She leaves the house and just wanders to return with something valuable that really describes her day. Without putting any pressure on herself is how she obtains the best results, it’s not about leaving and coming back with something good, its about exploring. “The best photos are when I really let myself go, and the photo just happens. And it happens to be exactly what I want. I cannot think about anything in my life and I just have to follow my intuition. It hasn’t always been like this… when I was younger I couldn’t see or respect this.” Living in London has given her the artistic freedom to do exactly what she wants—“I love London; it’s such an individualist city! Nobody cares what you do!”

In 2010, inspired by several trips, Val created a blog called Moods around the World. This photographical project sets out to capture the atmosphere and culture of a place; “I always try to reach the soul with anything in my life, if I’m buying a sofa or taking a photo…that’s what my work translates.” Photography is her companion, and her art is everything for her –“It allows to me to be in a different world that is not so much the here and now. It basically keeps me sane.”

Her last exhibition took place in Shoreditch last September, shared with 15 other artists. It was a peak of personal exploration as she exhibited some very intimate frames of a recurring motif in her life: the butterfly.

Currently she is working on two projects: Through the Present, where the present tells the past, and this Poetry in Motion which constitutes a growing project in which she uses a low shutter-speed and portrays the landscape of water and sky - “It’s about the elements but its very abstract and I’m really enjoying that. I think I could start selling the photos soon.”

Nature is the main motif in her work –“I really don’t like shooting portraits, I have a problem to direct people, its quite hard for me.” Water has been the protagonist of her photography as a repeated subject: “Any place with water you can get amazing reflection, amazing movement and water is related to emotion.”

Despite her success as a photographer, selling her work at the Saatchi online gallery and freelance to other clients, her photography is a constant – “Basically what I have been learning throughout in my life is to see in a creative way and through this I aspire to grow.”

Best part of the job:

“I like to start things from the beginning, when I have nothing in my mind, and then the process just flows.”

Worst part of the job:

“Sitting indoors for hours editing, using software like Photoshop. What I really like is to go out and shoot. Sometimes I leave the house without direction… having to sit there at a desk in front of a computer is not my thing.”

Travel:

India, Japan, China, French Polynesia, Russia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Tanzania, Kenya…

Charity Work:

Actions for Brazil’s Children (ABC). ...more

22/08/2012

Let it fly..once a butterfly talked to me...

She said: "it is a boy" and very quickly she flew away.
She was right!
She came to me again…
She said: "He must go".
She was right again.
In my dream a saw a white one, asking for pure love. I believed.
She came to me again…this time she did not say anything. She just stood there quietly.
I gave her a little piece of crystal and she built a few more.
Took so many year to hear her again.
But she was there…and she woke up…and she told me…it is time to fly... ...more