Ricky Maldonado
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1953, Los Angeles, California
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011 Hot Tea 2!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2003 The Inspired Vessel, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art
Park, Los Angeles, CA
2001-02 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Birthday Show, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2000 Maldonado 2000, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
California Clay, Invitational, The Arboretum, Arcadia, CA
1998 Handbuilt Ceramics, Invitational, Los Angeles Harbour College, CA
1997 Offerings, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
Featured Artist, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993 Echoes, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am the sole creator of my pieces, using the process of coil building. Although I can throw, it is much more satisfying for me using the coils. For now, my choice of clay is Terra Cotta. I am inspired by nature and architecture. When I see a color combination, a shape of a leaf or the arch in a bridge that I like, I will jot it down and will eventually incorporate it into my work.
After building a piece, I will sand it smooth and then burnish it with my hands using the natural oils from my skin or a very small amount of olive oil. Then, I polish it with soft plastic that I collect from the dry cleaners. Only this plastic works in producing the soft luster that I look for. Not using rulers or templates, I work with a mirror in front of me so that I can get my shape and design as perfect as I can. Once I've sanded and burnished my piece, I mark the piece using a soft pencil, and continue to mark as I rotate the piece in front of me. Then I draw from dot to dot until the design is finished, the pieces are green as I work on them. I then apply black slip where I have drawn my design. I then apply the glaze one dot at a time, using a small sable brush. The piece is then fired.
My subject matter originates from my Apache blood and over the ten years since I
discovered clay, my style has transformed from a simple, primitive look to one more developed in shape and technique.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ricky Maldonado entered community art classes in October of 1991 and first learned the basics of coil building, a process with which he fell in love. He was soon given a one man show for the city of Burbank in 1993, which exhibited 83 pieces. Maldonado was ignorant to the technical side of the medium, so he entered Otis/Parsons Institute of Art where he studied one year. Through these studies he widened his artistic range and developed further technically.
Living in Echo Park, using his fulltime studio for the past four years, Maldonado has become a master in coil building. His shapes and sizes have changed through the years. He is a multiple award winner and continues to surprise himself with the never ending possibilities that clay has to offer. Maldonado has taught seminars in his studio as well as courses for the city of Burbank, including lectures and coil building demonstrations at Knotts Berry Farm, Glendale College and at the Los Angeles County Fair, where he was featured at the Millard Sheets Gallery.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2011 Hot Tea 2!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2003 The Inspired Vessel, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art
Park, Los Angeles, CA
2001-02 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Birthday Show, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2000 Maldonado 2000, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
California Clay, Invitational, The Arboretum, Arcadia, CA
1998 Handbuilt Ceramics, Invitational, Los Angeles Harbour College, CA
1997 Offerings, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
Featured Artist, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993 Echoes, Burbank Municipal Gallery, Burbank, CA
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am the sole creator of my pieces, using the process of coil building. Although I can throw, it is much more satisfying for me using the coils. For now, my choice of clay is Terra Cotta. I am inspired by nature and architecture. When I see a color combination, a shape of a leaf or the arch in a bridge that I like, I will jot it down and will eventually incorporate it into my work.
After building a piece, I will sand it smooth and then burnish it with my hands using the natural oils from my skin or a very small amount of olive oil. Then, I polish it with soft plastic that I collect from the dry cleaners. Only this plastic works in producing the soft luster that I look for. Not using rulers or templates, I work with a mirror in front of me so that I can get my shape and design as perfect as I can. Once I've sanded and burnished my piece, I mark the piece using a soft pencil, and continue to mark as I rotate the piece in front of me. Then I draw from dot to dot until the design is finished, the pieces are green as I work on them. I then apply black slip where I have drawn my design. I then apply the glaze one dot at a time, using a small sable brush. The piece is then fired.
My subject matter originates from my Apache blood and over the ten years since I
discovered clay, my style has transformed from a simple, primitive look to one more developed in shape and technique.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ricky Maldonado entered community art classes in October of 1991 and first learned the basics of coil building, a process with which he fell in love. He was soon given a one man show for the city of Burbank in 1993, which exhibited 83 pieces. Maldonado was ignorant to the technical side of the medium, so he entered Otis/Parsons Institute of Art where he studied one year. Through these studies he widened his artistic range and developed further technically.
Living in Echo Park, using his fulltime studio for the past four years, Maldonado has become a master in coil building. His shapes and sizes have changed through the years. He is a multiple award winner and continues to surprise himself with the never ending possibilities that clay has to offer. Maldonado has taught seminars in his studio as well as courses for the city of Burbank, including lectures and coil building demonstrations at Knotts Berry Farm, Glendale College and at the Los Angeles County Fair, where he was featured at the Millard Sheets Gallery.