On Tuesday February 5, 2019 at 11.30 a.m. Joseph Gallivan interviews sculptor Ivan Carmona about his show of ceramics at PDX Contemporary Art. Carmona talks about his love of clay and color, his heroes Calder and Naguchi, and his happy journey from tropical Puerto Rico to equally lush Portland.
FROM THE PRESS RELEASE
Statement
In this new body of work I’ve abstracted the landscape of my homeland, Puerto Rico.
The forms and colors are based on my memories, is a physical tactile of my experiences. Each piece is a fragment of my experience as a child in a landscape, rich with intense color shapes and textures.
PDX CONTEMPORARY ART presents a two-person exhibition of work by Iván Carmona and Liz Robb. Deeply tied to place, each of the artists’ work draws from their experiences with, and interpretations of, the natural environment. Through their work, both artists think about the body and how their individual approaches and experiences shape the specific landscapes from which they draw reference.
Iván Carmona is an artist based in Portland, Oregon. Originally from Puerto Rico, Carmona’s vibrant ceramic sculptures draw from the landscape and rich vegetation he was surrounded by for most of his life. While primarily based on nostalgia and deep ties to place, these sculptures also nod toward the work of the abstract expressionists and the artist’s love for the work of Alexander Calder.
When paired and observed in groups, these viVid gestures resemble the topography of his native land, combining together the sky, flora, fauna and earth, to reimagine the landscape.
(Liz Robb’s work happens through the lens of various geographic locations where she has been an artist-in-residence, most recently spending time in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Mainly working with traditional craft materials, Robb uses fiber and ceramic to create dynamic sculptures that reflect her interactions with the landscape. Extensive explorations with material yield thoughtful works that are distinctive to the places in which they are made— often times even utilizing earth pigments of the various regions.)
Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune, where he is currently the Business Reporter. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available on Amazon.com
This show was recorded at KBOO on Feb 2, 2019 in Production 2.
- KBOO