Isadora Cuéllar is intrigued by clay.  Its simplicity and ductility, the depth and breath of the material resonates for her. She states, “The possibility of delving into each of the processes of the clay until it is sewn, has allowed me to build a deeper connection with the earth and nature. In recent years I have focused my artistic practice on research and inquiry in different pottery communities in the country including Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla and Michoacán. This has given me the possibility of generating dialogues with clay from different languages. Building bridges, unraveling the possibility that the material has beyond the sculptural and utilitarian aspect. Knowing the breadth and diversity of clays in the country, the collection, construction and firing processes, have broadened my vision of this material. In each of the ceramic processes there is a poetic narrative, they are loaded with history and tradition that dialogue with the present.”

Cuéllar began her exploration of clay in 1999 working as an apprentice and assistant in Coatepec, Veracruz in a high-temperature ceramics workshop. Academically, choosing a specialty in sculpture, she has studied Visual Arts at the National School of Plastic Arts of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, now The Faculty of Arts and Design. In 2013, she completed her Master's degree in visual arts, specializing in graphics.

Currently working with clay in its raw state, Cuéllar prefers to focus on the feel of the clay, saying,  “As I have been getting to know different local clays, I find beauty in the shades of each one already fired. The universe of glazes in ceramics seems to me to be extremely beautiful and extremely interesting, however in my personal work I consider the shape itself to be paramount and that the clay is exposed, naked, that there is a dialogue between the shape and the material. In some pieces I consider it important to give them a finish with sandpaper, which allows me to dry polish and thus give other qualities to the material itself and to the shapes.”

Cuéllar likes the rhythm and time of manual construction.  She says it’s slower and allows her to reflect more on each piece. She has more control over what she has planned for each one.  Even though she uses traditional techniques to produce her art, her aesthetic vision is based in contemporary time. Her hand-built lattice-like sculptures are visual reminders of the invisible connections people make with each other long after their physical meetings are over.

*Photographs courtesy of Rogelio Cuéllar, Juz Escalante and Leonardo Escalante

Isadora Cuéllar's Contact Information:

isadoracuellar2@gmail.com

http://isadoracuellar.blogspot.com/

www.isadoracuellar.com (In Construction)