Handmade by Kukuli Velarde and Doug Herren
Materials: Clay, Underglaze, Post Firing Paint
Dimensions: H 21" x W 14.5" x D 6"
2018
Edition: Unique
Kukuli Velarde is a Peruvian-American artist whose work revolves around the consequences of colonization in Latin American contemporary culture to create a visual investigation about aesthetics, cultural survival, and inheritance. Her identity is marked by the visuals of modern and rural scenery against the monolithic presence of pre-Columbian and catholic colonial aesthetics both of which conform and define Peruvian landscapes. Velarde’s work approaches Pre-Columbian aesthetics in a search for cultural and ethnic commonalities, claiming them as her heritage while engaging the audience in conversations about colonization and coloniality.
For over thirty years Doug Herren has developed a body of work that spans his early days as a functional potter to his recent efforts as a sculptor of large-scale vessel forms and fabricator of tables and stands. Since obtaining his MFA in 1992 he has completed two residencies and has taught university-level Ceramics courses for over fifteen years. His current work echoes his training as a potter by invoking vessel references in large-scale forms reminiscent of abandoned industrial tools, gaudily-colored. His primary working mediums are ceramics and wood-working. He aspires to wed the prosaic yet intimate qualities of functional pottery with the more assertive power of industrial tools, relegating both to an age more closely attuned to human labor and striving.
