PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO
“When I shape glass, it’s nature that
“When I shape glass, it’s nature that
guides me — its curves, its memories, its
guides me — its curves, its memories, its
silent cries drowned out by the rush of
silent cries drowned out by the rush of
the world.”
the world.”
Ju Chaves
Ju Chaves
“When I shape glass, it’s nature that
guides me — its curves, its memories, its
silent cries drowned out by the rush of
the world.”
Ju Chaves
In a constant stream of fleeting images, Ju Chaves’
work takes root in the luminous permanence of glass
and the patient craftsmanship of mosaic. This is not
merely an aesthetic choice, but the forging of a truly
singular language — a translucent vocabulary capable
of expressing what often escapes words: the symbiosis
between strength and vulnerability, the intricate web
that connects ancestral femininity to the urgency of
today’s ecological crisis.
This is where her brilliance lies — nourished both by this
depth of meaning and by technical mastery. She
possesses a rare ability to shape a material that, by its
very nature, embodies the duality of light and shadow,
fragility and resilience. Her journey — from the precision
of graphic design to the tactile surrender of handmade
art — grants her a unique perspective, one where
structure and emotion are intimately woven together.
It’s a reminder that the most powerful art is that which
teaches us to see — and feel — the world anew.
An Artist
There are many paths in art: some seek representation, others
abstraction. And then there are those who challenge the very
limits of matter, transforming the visible world into something
sublime. Ju Chaves is one of those creators — blending
technique and sensitivity to bring glass, mosaic, and digital art
to life in her own singular way. Her journey, shaped by discovery
and reinvention, reflects a deep passion for artistic creation and
a relentless pursuit of authentic expression.
Art has been a part of her life since childhood, though at first, in
subtle ways. Music, dance, and theater shaped her eye for
movement and composition, while a fascination with colors and
forms naturally drew her toward the visual arts. Yet her initial
path led to the world of graphic design — a space where
technique and creativity are tightly interwoven. With a master’s
degree from PUC-Rio, Ju found in digital design a way to
structure her artistic vision, developing essential skills that would
later become foundational to her visual language.
The turning point came when she discovered mosaics and
stained glass. The desire to create with her own hands — to
build tangible images — led her to dive into this world: a fusion
of glass painting and mosaic composition. The process, both
meticulous and mesmerizing, involves precise glass cutting,
hand-painting
each
piece,
kiln-firing
to
set
the
color,
assembling, and finally grouting — a ritual of patience and
devotion that gives rise to deeply meaningful works.
In her creations, the feminine appears as a symbolic universe,
where thoughts and emotions are woven into organic and
geometric forms. Each piece becomes a visual narrative, an
invitation to contemplation. The harmony of colors and the
fluidity of her compositions evoke an almost dreamlike
atmosphere, where the artist moves between existential inquiry
and reverence for nature — a theme that runs poetically
through both her life and her work.
T H E H A R M O N Y O F C O L O R S A N D T H E
F L U I D I T Y O F T H E C O M P O S I T I O N S
C R E A T E A N A L M O S T D R E A M L I K E
A T M O S P H E R E .
CONNECTING WITH
NATURE HAS
ALWAYS BEEN
ESSENTIAL FOR JU
CHAVES. BORN ON
WORLD
ENVIRONMENT DAY,
the artist shares a deep connection with the planet — with the ocean, the
sun, the moon, and flowers. This passion comes to life in her work, which
often depicts Brazil’s rich fauna and flora, especially in the series "Biomes
of Brazil", where Ju expresses her concern for environmental preservation.
Ju Chaves’ artistic journey began within artist collectives and group
exhibitions. Through conversations, discoveries, and creative exchanges,
she found her voice and solidified her presence as an artist — gradually
expanding her reach into galleries and major art events. Her work has
been featured in exhibitions across Brazil and internationally, including in
Lisbon, London, Paris, New York, Miami, and Brussels, and has appeared in
art publications and auctions. Her pieces have found their place in
prestigious galleries.
C r e a t e y o u r
p r o f e s s i o n a l
p o r t f o l i o
@ r e a l l y g r e a t s i t e
F o r J u , a r t a n d l i f e a r e
i n t e r t w i n e d i n a c o n t i n u o u s f l o w
o f s e n s a t i o n s a n d d i s c o v e r i e s ,
w h e r e e a c h n e w w o r k b e c o m e s a
c h a p t e r i n h e r j o u r n e y .
Transparent, yet never invisible
Imagine transforming the humblest of materials — the ordinary
sand beneath our feet — into a substance that captures light,
defies gravity, and reshapes our perception of the world. This is
the intrinsic magic of glass, a material born from fire and human
intuition, whose journey intertwines with the very history of
civilization, art, and innovation. Its paradoxical nature, balancing
on the edge between solid and primordial liquid, fragile yet
astonishingly enduring, has fascinated humanity for millennia.
The origins of glass are lost in the mists of time, with evidence
pointing to Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt around 3500 BCE.
At first, it was a rare luxury, perhaps the result of happy
accidents in ceramic kilns or fires in silica-rich sand. Small
objects, colorful beads, and amulets were painstakingly
shaped, imitating gemstones. But it was the Romans, with their
pragmatism and technical genius, who sparked the first major
glass revolution.
Around the 1st century BCE, the invention (or refinement) of
glassblowing marked a turning point. Suddenly, glass could
take on more complex forms, become thinner and more
transparent, and be produced on a larger scale. Vases, cups,
jars, and the first rudimentary windowpanes began to appear
in everyday Roman life, spreading across the vast reaches of
the Empire.
With the fall of Rome, many secrets of glassmaking were lost in the West, but the flame
was kept alive in the Middle East and Byzantium, where the mosaic tradition also
embraced the brilliance of glass tesserae. The European Middle Ages, however, would
assign glass a transcendent role. In the soaring Gothic cathedrals, stained glass
reached its peak. Glass was no longer just a utilitarian material; it became a pictorial
and spiritual language. Vast “walls of light” depicted biblical stories in vibrant colors,
filtering sunlight and creating atmospheres of profound reflection and divine splendor.
There, glass became the very manifestation of the intangible — a colored veil between
the earthly and the sacred.
Meanwhile, from the late Middle Ages onward, Venice, especially the island of Murano,
became the world’s epicenter for high-quality glass production. Its master
glassmakers guarded their formulas and techniques closely, achieving unmatched
virtuosity in creating delicate pieces, crystal-clear mirrors, and luxury objects coveted
across Europe. Glass had become a symbol of status and refinement.
The Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution brought new perspectives. Carefully
polished glass lenses opened windows to the microcosm and macrocosm. Telescopes
revealed the secrets of the heavens, while microscopes uncovered worlds invisible to
the naked eye. Glass became a fundamental tool for expanding human knowledge,
forever transforming our understanding of the universe and ourselves.
The Industrial Revolution, starting in the 18th century, democratized glass. New mass-
production techniques, including the development of sheet glass (initially cylinder-
blown, later perfected in the float process in the 20th century), allowed the
manufacture of large transparent panels at lower costs. Architecture was profoundly
impacted: buildings like London’s Crystal Palace (1851) celebrated lightness and
transparency, foreshadowing the glass façades that would dominate modern
cityscapes. Bottles, jars, lamps, and countless everyday objects began to incorporate
glass in an almost ubiquitous way.
In European cathedrals, stained glass emerged as windows to
the divine, telling biblical stories through the colored light that
streamed across figures of saints, angels, and martyrs.
The 20th and early 21st centuries saw glass
explode with possibilities. In architecture, it
became both skin and structure, shaping
skyscrapers and homes with their “glass
curtains.” In design, it took form in furniture,
lighting, and objects that combine
functionality with sculptural beauty. In science
and technology, optical fibers revolutionized
communications, touchscreens transformed our
interaction with the digital world, and
specialized glass found applications in
medicine, solar energy, and space exploration.
The 20th century was pivotal with the “Studio Glass” movement, which finally
established glass as a primary medium for artistic expression, deeply
exploring its plastic and conceptual qualities. Revisited techniques and new
approaches, such as fusing, granted artists unprecedented freedom to
sculpt, paint, and craft narratives with light and the glass material itself.
Thus, from ancestral beads to contemporary installations, the journey of
glass is a fascinating story of ingenuity, beauty, and transformation. It
reflects humanity’s relentless pursuit of light, clarity, and expression — a
translucent odyssey that continues to unfold, revealing at every turn the
infinite possibilities contained within this extraordinary material.
IN THE CURIOUS TOUCH OF A
IN THE CURIOUS TOUCH OF A
HAND ON COLD TRANSPARENCY,
HAND ON COLD TRANSPARENCY,
IN THE CHILDLIKE GAZE SEEKING
IN THE CHILDLIKE GAZE SEEKING
THE WORLD THROUGH A WINDOW,
THE WORLD THROUGH A WINDOW,
THE ANCESTRAL MAGIC OF GLASS
THE ANCESTRAL MAGIC OF GLASS
AS BOTH INTERFACE AND PORTAL
AS BOTH INTERFACE AND PORTAL
IS ALREADY REVEALED. FROM
IS ALREADY REVEALED. FROM
ANCIENT ORNAMENT TO A STAR
ANCIENT ORNAMENT TO A STAR
OF CONTEMPORARY ART, GLASS
OF CONTEMPORARY ART, GLASS
ENDURES AS A MATERIAL OF
ENDURES AS A MATERIAL OF
CREATION AND CONTEMPLATION.
CREATION AND CONTEMPLATION.
IN EVERY FRAGMENT, A STORY; IN
IN EVERY FRAGMENT, A STORY; IN
EVERY REFLECTION, THE PROMISE
EVERY REFLECTION, THE PROMISE
OF A WORLD YET TO BE REVEALED.
OF A WORLD YET TO BE REVEALED.
IN THE CURIOUS TOUCH OF A
HAND ON COLD TRANSPARENCY,
IN THE CHILDLIKE GAZE SEEKING
THE WORLD THROUGH A WINDOW,
THE ANCESTRAL MAGIC OF GLASS
AS BOTH INTERFACE AND PORTAL
IS ALREADY REVEALED. FROM
ANCIENT ORNAMENT TO A STAR
OF CONTEMPORARY ART, GLASS
ENDURES AS A MATERIAL OF
CREATION AND CONTEMPLATION.
IN EVERY FRAGMENT, A STORY; IN
EVERY REFLECTION, THE PROMISE
OF A WORLD YET TO BE REVEALED.
"Glass teaches me to listen to
the silence of forms — it speaks
with light, breaks, and remakes
itself like the soul itself."
Ju Chaves
Breathing Glass
Some materials obey the hand. Others resist before yielding. Glass, with its
memory of fire and sand, walks the line between delicacy and strength — a
material of extremes, a mirror of what it means to be human. In Ju Chaves’ hands,
it becomes more than form: it becomes skin, it becomes voice.
Each of the artist’s works is born from an intimate encounter with the material. The
process — cutting, hand-painting, firing, assembling, and grouting — is not mere
technique, but a ritual. Ju engages with glass as one listens to time. Between one
sheet and another, between a fragment and the heat of the kiln, she reveals layers
that lie beyond the visible. There is something ancestral in her practice — as if
each piece recovers memories of the body, the earth, the feminine soul, and
nature itself.
Ju Chaves
GLASS, IN ITS TRANSPARENCY,
GLASS, IN ITS TRANSPARENCY,
ALLOWS US TO SEE THROUGH
ALLOWS US TO SEE THROUGH
IT. BUT IN JU’S HANDS, IT
IT. BUT IN JU’S HANDS, IT
ALSO ALLOWS US TO FEEL
ALSO ALLOWS US TO FEEL
THROUGH IT. EACH
THROUGH IT. EACH
COMPOSITION CARRIES
COMPOSITION CARRIES
SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED
SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED
FEMININE — CURVES,
FEMININE — CURVES,
MANDALAS, AND SUBTLE,
MANDALAS, AND SUBTLE,
ORGANIC GEOMETRIES THAT
ORGANIC GEOMETRIES THAT
EVOKE THE CYCLE OF LIFE, THE
EVOKE THE CYCLE OF LIFE, THE
ACT OF CREATION, AND THE
ACT OF CREATION, AND THE
MYSTERY OF
MYSTERY OF
TRANSFORMATION.
TRANSFORMATION.
GLASS, IN ITS TRANSPARENCY,
ALLOWS US TO SEE THROUGH
IT. BUT IN JU’S HANDS, IT
ALSO ALLOWS US TO FEEL
THROUGH IT. EACH
COMPOSITION CARRIES
SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED
FEMININE — CURVES,
MANDALAS, AND SUBTLE,
ORGANIC GEOMETRIES THAT
EVOKE THE CYCLE OF LIFE, THE
ACT OF CREATION, AND THE
MYSTERY OF
TRANSFORMATION.
There is a poetic pulse
in them, as if the light
passing through the
glass carries with it the
emotions resting within.
Working with glass is like touching
time: it requires patience, dedication,
and respect for the beauty that
emerges from transformation.
Ju Chaves