Renata Cassiano-Alvarez: Consumed by The Gospel of Uncertainty

RENATA CASSIANO - ALVAREZ

Consumed by The Gospel of Uncertainty

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RENATA CASSIANO-ALVAREZ Consumed by The Gospel of Uncertainty February 15 – March 7, 2020

Opening Reception: February 15, 2020, 3:00 – 5:00 pm Artist Talk: February 16, 2020, 1:00 pm at Lacoste Keane Gallery

SHOW ESSAY BY GUSTAVO PEREZ: RENATA CASSIANO-ALVAREZ | CONSUMED BY THE GOSPEL OF UNCERTAINTY The first solo exhibition of Renata Cassiano-Alvarez at Lacoste/Keane Gallery in Concord, Massachusetts titled Consumed by The Gospel of Uncertainty from February 15 to March 7, 2020 is certainly a meaningful step in her career. For her work to be exhibited in an established gallery that represents so many respected ceramic authors of our time, while also keeping a distinct eye towards the future by showing the work of dynamic emerging artists, demonstrates that Cassiano-Alvarez’s work deserves the attention of a serious critical public.

For Cassiano-Alvarez, this exhibition is a well-deserved opportunity. Her engagement with ceramics has been so rich that, in spite of her youth, her CV is in fact quite impressive in terms of international presence and a variety of professional experiences in many countries; she is well on her way to being a known figure in the world of ceramics. All this fundamentally because she maintains an intensive studio practice, has a critical understanding of art in general, and buttresses her creative work with interest and knowledge of literature, music, film, and language.

All of this results in a body of work which is strong, playful and has grown in a very natural and poetic manner.

I came to know Renata as she worked in my studio for three years as one of my most trusted assistants. During this time, I had the opportunity to follow closely her development and have maintained a connection to her and the trajectory of her practice. My strong interest in her work exists because of her unique visionary personality and the seriousness of her creative investigations; something which I find quite exceptional and has always intrigued me. In all the years that I have had assistants working at my studio (and there have been many!), there has never been someone as absolutely personal and original as Renata. From the very beginning, while Renata could make very well what she was asked to do for the studio, whenever she had the time to make her own work it was amazing to see always how incredibly far away it was from my own. This is something I had never seen before. She had already a personal voice, a vision; no need at all to detach herself from a teacher because she had the absolute direction of ideas of her own.

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Since I am a maker and not a critic, my first instinct is to approach her work from the standpoint I know. Having witnessed over a decade of her creative growth, I can say that I admire and respect the freedom and the force of her work, the energy it contains, the endless curiosity it shows, and the risk it implies. And also how it goes playfully from one theme to another giving always a strong impression of love for ceramics and a deep understanding of what clay and fire are, what they can be when handled with knowledge and passion. For the little part I did play in the development of her career, I am grateful. Her vibrant energy and endless ability to question the assumptions of our material makes her stand out amongst all of the young artists I have known and worked alongside.

- Gustavo Perez, international ceramic artist Gustavo Perez is an international ceramic artist whose works are in private and public collections including LACMA, Long Beach Museum of Art, Racine Art Museum, MFA Houston, Gardiner Museum Toronto and The Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art Shiga Japan.

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

La Tumba Glaze cast and handbuilt stoneware 50h x 25w x 25d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Everything Becomes Glaze cast and handbuilt stoneware 35h x 22w x 24d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Festive Eyes handbuilt stoneware 14h x 10w x 8d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Disorganizing Meaning Glaze cast and handbuilt earthenware 21h x 13w x 15d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Wild Delights, 2019 Handbuilt Stoneware, Glazed Cast 18h x 17w x 9d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Thousand Sided Animal Glaze cast and handbuilt porcelain 15h x 13w x 8d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 2019 Handbuilt Porcelain 9h x 11w x 6d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 2019 Handbuilt Porcelain 9h x 11w x 6d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Pajarera (Birdcage) Handbuilt Porcelain 11h x 8w x 8d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Hacia Afuera (Inside Out) Handbuilt Porcelain 11h x 13w x 6d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Blindness Handbuilt Porcelain 14h x 11w x 11d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

La Nopalera Interior y Sus Tunas Metaforicas (The Interior Cactus and Its Metaphorical Fruit) handbuilt stoneware 16h x 13w x 10d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Gut Feeling Handbuilt earthenware 15h x 15w x 15d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Summit Handbuilt Porcelain 15h x 10w x 10d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Flor del Desierto (Desert Flower)( Handbuilt Porcelain 7h x 6w x 4d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Summit Handbuilt Porcelain 15h x 10w x 10d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Artifact V Glaze Cast 4h x 4w x 4d in

Renata Cassiano Alvarez Artifact III Glaze Cast 4h x 4w x 4d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Artifact II Glaze Cast 4h x 4w x 4d in

Renata Cassiano Alvarez Artifact IV Glaze Cast 4h x 4w x 4d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Cascajo, 2019 Glaze Cast 17h x 22w x 12d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Mare Clausum Glaze Cast 10h x 7w x 3d in

Renata Cassiano Alvarez At The Heart Glaze Cast 9h x 5w x 5d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Fragmento Glaze Cast 9h x 8w x 5d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Unobvious Handbuilt Watershed earthenware 16h x 10w x 6d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez

Golden Section I, 2019 Handbuilt Black porcelain, kiln shelve and glaze 10h x 6w x 5d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Golden Section II handbuilt stoneware 9h x 6w x 5d in

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Renata Cassiano Alvarez Artifact VI Glaze Cast 4h x 4w x 4d in

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