Mario Reis is from Caldas da Rainha, a Portuguese city with a strong ceramic tradition. He belongs to the fifth generation of a family that has been dedicated to the potter's wheel and traditional pottery in this city since around 1850. 

When he was a child he used to spend hours watching his uncles and his grandfather working on the potter's wheel. Although he grew up so close to this secular tradition, he needed to explore other techniques and look for new expressive solutions. In his work, he uses, among other techniques, wheel pottery.

In his work he likes to mix several techniques, some that he learned, others that he developed himself, creating a dance of different volumes and a game of contrasts between the rough textures of the stoneware and the smooth textures of the glaze.

Drawing is a very important part of his work, since he was a child I have always loved drawing. His creative process doesn't always work the same way. Sometimes when an idea for a piece pops into my head, he first makes a drawing to see how the idea works. Other times he doesn't have a very clear idea of what he wants to do and ideas come up as he progresses in the work.

Animals are a recurrent theme in his pieces, he uses them as actors in a story in which he generally comes cross other aspects related to everyday life, society, traditions and culture, where everything can serve as an inspiration.

A good example of this is the seagull sculptures he made for the Fort of Nazaré in Portugal, right in front of the biggest waves in the world. On these seagulls there are several references to surfing and the daily life of Nazaré and its traditions and legends. 

I pay particular attention to the small details in my work, which are often the most important to me in a piece.I have been doing small and large works like tile panels in particular and public places. His ceramic pieces are spread all over the world.