Albuquerque, NM Artist Statement:My past and present surroundings influence my work. The images and memories of coffee mills, intensely colored mountains, dramatic landscapes, pre-Colombian art and architecture of the Andean region of Venezuela all form an important part of my visual inspirations. These elements combine with the distinct physical geography of the U.S. Southwest to influence and inspire my work. The range of textures and colors found in these environments also inform my palette of glazes and engobes, which are achieved through high-firing in oxidation and reduction. By altering wheel-thrown porcelain and stoneware, my work fuses organic and geometric forms, in which I express both the fluidity and abruptness of the shapes and lines in the landscapes and architecture that surrounds me. My goal is not mimesis but to capture the energy of these spaces and how they are part of my lived experience. In the dialogue between the object and me, that energy somehow always comes to the fore, creating hybrid forms between life in the deserts and memories of mountain forests that become more like dreams. Artist Bio:José Sierra was born in Mérida, Venezuela in 1975. While José is a self-taught artist, he was introduced to ceramics at the University of the Andes in Mérida, Venezuela from 1993-1996, where he learned the basic skills of mixing clay, glazes, as well as wheel throwing. In 1996, José began working professionally as an artist in Mérida, Venezuela, doing sculpture. In 2000, José moved to the United States, where he dedicated himself to both sculpture and pottery. José currently resides in New Mexico where he is a studio ceramicist.