Rinna Soriano’s favorite part of her work is sanding. At her workbench, she stays focused, following the grain, adjusting to changes in its direction. Narra, she has learned, can have interlocking grain. A piece of mango once proved particularly difficult until a worker explained that she had reached the point where a branch once grew […]
‘Crossing Boundaries’ Creates Distinctive Pottery From Two Unique Artists
Crossing Boundaries is a collaborative exhibit by sculptors Genavee Lazaro and JD Yu. This is the second collaborative exhibition in a series by Cartellino Art in two months, after last month’s exhibit by CABNOV and Haraya Ocampo-Tejido.
Crossing Boundaries gives us some distinctive pottery works from the two artists. They made it together in an elaborate give-and-take that allows them to experiment and integrate each other’s approach. According to the exhibit write-up, the works “emerge from a process hinged on trust, learning, and experimentation.”
“The objective for the artist-couple was to cross boundaries: to alter the other’s work, to impinge on their respective styles,” the write-up continued. “This exhibition thus marks the confluence of two distinct artistic styles onto a single sculptural form.”
Individuality Shines in Collaboration
Lazaro and Yu’s different stylistic processes truly shine through in this exhibition. The exhibit itself describes the merging of the styles as a negotiation: while Yu favors fluidity and abstraction, Lazaro works towards “structured and representational forms.”
Cartellino Art’s write-up on the art process shows an interesting dynamic between the two. “Yu started off with the red clays and Lazaro with the off-whites,” the write-up said, “then passed it to the other once it was halfway finished.”
Some of the works in the exhibit present pictures of the work at the halfway point. It reveals how the work evolved, highlighting each artist’s contribution to the final product.
During the process, both artists expressed fear that one artistic voice would win over the other. They “hesitated to revise what the other had touched, and quarreled over the extent of their modifications.” In the end, however, that negotiation created pottery that was distinctly theirs, less a Frankenstein of their methods and more a melding of the two’s ideas.
Distinctive Pottery
The pottery in Crossing Boundaries truly is unique. Much of it straddles the lines between abstraction and representation. The ceramics contain Lazaro’s Cactus Friend character in fantastical yet humanized forms, while others attempt a curving, flowing nature-like fixture. Some of the pots even merge the two somehow, using green, Earth-like colors on ceramic bodies that give it a Studio Ghibli-esque look.
For Lazaro, attaining the aesthetic involved sensing how “each work wanted to be.” She worked with each piece to ensure that it could have a particular appearance unique to all the others. Yu, meanwhile, wanted Lazaro’s Cactus Friend character to exist in a watery context. “Yu added forms such as spirals and envisioned what pottery would look like in an underwater world,” the write-up said.
Both of them, regardless of their methods, ensured room for the other to work their ideas into each piece.
Cartellino Art’s Crossing Boundaries showcases the value of collaboration for artists. While trust may be hard to envision for people in general, it gives audiences a perspective on what it can do in the context of art. For Lazaro and Yu, it opens up new avenues for artistic expression while utilizing the forms and methods of other artists.
Photos by Elle Yap.
Related reading: ‘Terror Incognita’ Shows How Generative AI Works Against Culture Creation
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