Edel Rzepka is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and living in Spain since 1998. Since 2016, she has lived and worked in a rural environment in Asturias, where nature and territory have become fundamental elements of her artistic research.
Her practice encompasses ceramics, painting, sculpture and photography, through which she explores the world of emotions, identity, matter, memory and transformation.
In her work, the face and self-portrait constitute another avenue of artistic investigation. Through the distortion of volumes, intense colour, the accumulation of matter and experimentation with different supports, she develops expressive representations that move away from realistic reproduction. The face becomes a material and emotional territory in which texture, gesture and the alteration of form take centre stage.
Her practice is characterised by experimentation and a direct relationship with materials. She works with fragile surfaces, unconventional supports and physically disrupted structures, incorporating rupture, irregularity and chance into the creative process. In ceramics, clay represents a physical and ancestral connection to the earth; in painting and sculpture, matter becomes a means of investigating expressiveness and perception.
Her research also addresses the relationship between nature and culture, questioning the ways in which the natural environment is represented, idealised and domesticated. With more than ten years of exhibition experience, she has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Spain and Argentina and has received recognition in painting and ceramics competitions.
Why the name of the Art Studio?
The Story Behind the Name.
Edeltraud was Edel’s paternal grandmother. She passed away at thirty-nine, succumbing to an illness rooted, among other wounds, in the loss of her eight-year-old child just eighteen months prior.
They carry the exact same name—”Edel” is merely “Edeltraud,” for an extracurricular decision or perhaps a simple lack of ink to finish writing it.
Edel knows her grandmother through the stories passed down through the family, and through the surviving works where her grandmother’s soul truly lives and breathes.
2. ARTISTIC RESEARCH AND INFLUENCES
Self-Portrait, Identity and Emotional Expression.
Investigation of the face as a space for exploring identity and expressiveness. Through distortion, exaggerated features, pronounced volumes and irregular surfaces, the self-portraits move away from faithful representation to explore the expressive possibilities of matter. Texture and colour create a physical presence that places the face somewhere between painting, relief and sculpture.
Matter, Gesture and Transformation.
Experimentation with materials, accumulation, deformation and textured surfaces. Matter functions not merely as a support for an image, but as an active element that determines its presence and meaning.
Nature and Representation.
Research into how nature and plant forms are perceived, represented and culturally transformed. Her work explores the tension between conventional beauty and organic forms that resist control and idealisation.
Ceramics and the Connection to Earth.
Clay is understood as a physical and ancestral material connected to the body, territory and processes of transformation. Sculptural construction provides a means of exploring deformation, traces and the expressive potential of surfaces.
Painting, Sculpture and the Disruption of the Support.
Exploration of the boundaries between artistic disciplines through altered surfaces, unconventional materials and disrupted structures. Rupture, fragility and irregularity become integral elements of the work rather than imperfections to be concealed.
Photography and the Construction of the Gaze.
Investigation of light, framing and visual perception. Photography serves as a tool for observing and questioning how our relationship with images and the surrounding environment is constructed.
Memory and Territory.
Living and working in a rural environment in Asturias has become an important part of her relationship with landscape, materials and natural processes.
3. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Current Studies : B.Sc. in Psychology UNED (National Distance Education University), Spain. Objective: Research & secret project.
2016 Higher Technician in Fine Arts and Design in Artistic Ceramics. School of Art of Talavera de la Reina, Spain.
2016 Erasmus Scholarship, Faenza, Italy. Specialised training in porcelain, sculpture and jewellery at the workshop of sculptor Martha Pachon Rodríguez. Participation in the course Transparency in Porcelain.
Ongoing training and research Development of technical knowledge through glaze testing, material experimentation, specialised literature, videos, workshops and lectures. Independent research into ceramic processes, surfaces, material transformation and the expressive possibilities of different supports.
4. AWARDS, CERTIFICATIONS AND RECOGNITION
2025 · 37th Villa de Avilés Ceramics Competition, Asturias, Spain.
2025 · Biennial of Ceramics of Talavera de la Reina, Spain. (Selected)
2022 · 22nd Timoteo P. Rubio Painting Prize, Spain.
2019 · International Ceramics Biennial of Manises, Valencia, Spain. Honorable Mention.
2017 · Escalona City Art Competition, Spain.
2016 · Álex Quinteros Competition, Argentina.
2014 · Navalcarnero Painting Prize, Madrid, Spain. Mention.
2013 · La Plata City Competition, Argentina. Mention.
2013 · Arenas de San Pedro Painting Prize, Spain. Honorable Mention.
Other Recognitions:
Selection of works in ceramics competitions, including NACE (Navarre) and Onda (Valencia), among other artistic calls and juried exhibitions.
5. EXHIBITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2026 | Permanent exhibition of painting and sculpture at Edeltraud.
2026 | Collaboration on the “Arte en las Plazas” project, Selfieland, Pravia, Asturias.
2025 | Ceramics exhibition at the Avilés Competition and the Talavera de la Reina Competition.
2025 | Ceramics and painting exhibition. Port of San Esteban de Pravia, Asturias, Spain.
2025 | Selection for the Ceramics Biennial of Talavera de la Reina, Spain.
2024 | Ceramics and painting exhibition. Las Tres Culturas Cultural Center, Cudillero, Asturias, Spain.
2024 | Ceramics and painting exhibition. Port of San Esteban de Pravia, Asturias, Spain.
2022 | Artistic ceramics exhibition. Port of Cudillero, Social and Maritime Center, Asturias, Spain.
2022 | Oliva de la Frontera Painting Exhibition, Painting Prize.
2021 | Exhibition at Galería Nueva. Participation in online exhibition.
2021 | Arts teaching. Teacher of ceramics and painting.
2020 | CerO, Oviedo, Spain. Solo installation SelfieLand and presentation of an exhibition space featuring ceramic works.
2019 | Creation of Edeltraud. Development of an independent art space focused on creation, experimentation, and teaching.
2018 | Port Exhibition Hall. Cudillero, Asturias, Spain. 2018 | House of Culture Exhibition Hall. Muros de Nalón, Asturias, Spain. Ceramic Art London. Attendance at the international ceramic art fair, London, United Kingdom.
2017 | Travel to Argentina for a six-month knowledge exchange.
2021 Galería Nueva Exhibition. Participation in an online exhibition.
2014 Solo Exhibition of Painting on Various Supports. La Salve Exhibition Hall, Toledo, Spain.
2014 Group Exhibition. Conde Duque Cultural Centre, Madrid, Spain.
2013 Exhibition. Rafael Morales Cultural Centre, Talavera de la Reina, Spain.
2013 Exhibition. Parque Paraíso Auditorium, Madrid, Spain.
2013 Solo Exhibition. DADA Art Space, Toledo, Spain.
2013 Group Exhibition. Conde Duque Cultural Centre, Madrid, Spain.
2013 Selected artistic proposal. No Carpet Festival.
2012 Solo and Group Exhibitions. Participation in various art exhibitions throughout these years.
2016 Present | Artistic Research in Asturias. Development of an interdisciplinary practice centred on nature, matter, memory and territory, with particular emphasis on experimentation in ceramics and painting.
Professional experience: More than ten years of exhibition experience in ceramics, painting and multidisciplinary artistic practice, alongside experience in teaching and developing independent projects.