Spring Visiting Artist
Each fall and spring, Penland invites a visiting artist to join us for one or two weeks to engage with Concentration instructors and students. This spring we are delighted to have two visiting artists.
Cristina Córdova
Cristina Córdova is a ceramic sculptor and teacher. Her awards include the USArtists Fellowship and the North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship. Her work is in the collections of the Renwick Gallery (DC), the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico. She has taught at Penland, Haystack (ME), Santa Fe Clay (NM), and Anderson Ranch (CO).
Cristina will give a visiting artist lecture on Tuesday, April 2 at 8:15 PM in Northlight titled Manos abiertas: making from where you are. This event is free and open to the public.
“Many of the themes that ground my practice are rooted in the identity of someone from the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico. Amidst all the vantage points that catalyze creativity this one, time and time again, offers a clear stance from which images of weight emerge. And yet, having lived for years amidst the ebb and flow of Penland, this once impermeable identity now has softened boundaries that are in constant dialogue with all that is received and understood outside of the small, evergreen territory I still consider home. This lecture will speak to the influences that have shaped my creative practice and explore the emergence of themes tied to identity and displacement through the lens of figurative ceramics.”
Jaime Suárez
Jaime Suárez is a sculptor, ceramist, installation artist, set designer, draftsman, and teacher. His work has been collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), the Museum of Art in Colombia, and the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico. He is an associate professor in the school of architecture at the Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico.
Jaime will give a visiting artist lecture on Wednesday, April 3 at 8:15 PM in Northlight titled Clay Beyond Ceramics. This event is free and open to the public.
“Three experiences during the first year of architecture studies influenced my development as an artist: reading The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura, a lecture by Louis Khan, and an investigation and paper on the work of Antonio Gaudi. An appreciation for nature and the passing of time, the inherent quality of materials, and the search for originality have shaped a diverse expression through clay which has extended to paper and concrete. Through the talk, I will share both conceptual concerns and techniques.”
