AMOCA Announces New Artists in Residence

(California, April 19, 2023)—The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) announced today five artists in residence for 2023–2024 (in order of arrival): Natalia Arbelaez of Brewster, NY; Claudia V. Solórzano of Los Angeles, CA; Paige O’Toole of Garrison, NY; Jolie Ngo of Philadelphia, PA; and Luke Shalan of Sugarloaf, CA.

Beth Ann Gerstein, Executive Director of AMOCA, commented: “The Artist in Residence program at the AMOCA Ceramics Studio provides time, space, and support for emerging, mid-career, and established artists to continue and expand their creative work. It is a vital part of the museum’s commitment to contemporary artistic practices, and a critical component of our effort to bring diverse and accomplished artistic voices to the City of Pomona. Thanks to enhanced support from the Windgate Foundation, residencies available for artists based in Southern California continue this year. On behalf of our partners, donors, members, staff, and our current artists-in-residence, I’m excited to extend a warm welcome to the 2023–2024 cohort of ceramic artists.”

Launched in 2012, AMOCA’s Artist in Residence program is one of the few long-term fellowship opportunities for ceramic artists on the West Coast. Located an hour from the desert, mountains, and beaches of Southern California and forty minutes east of Los Angeles, the residency space provides artists an opportunity to produce or develop a new body of work while also participating in AMOCA’s programs. The shorter residency opportunities for artists commuting from Southern California locales are designed to encourage artistic exchange with artists visiting from other parts of the world.

The Artist in Residence program at the AMOCA Ceramics Studio is made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation, Julianne and David Armstrong, and the Laguna Clay and Glaze Company. 

2023-2024 AMOCA Artists in Residence
(in order of arrival)

Natalia Arbelaez is a Colombian American artist, born and raised in Miami, Florida to immigrant parents. She received her BFA from Florida International University and her MFA from The Ohio State University, with an Enrichment Fellowship. In 2016-2017 she was a Rittenberg Fellow at Clay Art Center; Port Chester, New York and was awarded the Inaugural Artaxis Fellowship that funded a residency to Watershed in Newcastle, ME. Her work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and included in various collections, such as the Everson Museum and MAD Museum. She has been recognized by NCECA as a 2018 Emerging Artist and was a 2018-19 resident artist at the Ceramics Program at Harvard University where she researched pre-Columbian art and histories. Natalia was an artist in residence at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City where she researched the work of historical and influential women ceramicists of color. Arbelaez will be in residence at AMOCA April–July 2023.

Claudia V. Solórzano is a Los Angeles-based artist working in ceramic sculpture. In her practice she utilizes ceramic materials to examine socio-economic stratification and domesticity through encounters with architectural motifs from the Los Angeles urban landscape. Her sculptures operate as portraits that navigate race, class, preservation, and the ephemerality of communities confronted with gentrification and sociopolitical boundaries. She obtained her Bachelors in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics from California State University, Long Beach and her Masters in Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University. Currently, Solórzano is Lead Studio Technician at Still Life Studio a local pottery studio in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles where she also teaches advanced hand-building classes. She will be in residence at AMOCA May–October 2023.

Paige O’Toole is a ceramic artist from Garrison, New York. Focusing on the intersection of gender, space and the domestic, her work explores themes of memory through gesture, and illusion through perception. O’Toole’s mark in clay is both immediate and archival, lasting and tangible evidence of her insatiable touch. She is currently an MFA candidate at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and holds a BA in Art History and a BFA in Ceramics from State University of New York at New Paltz. O’Toole will be in residence at AMOCA August 2023–July 2024.

Jolie Ngo is a ceramic artist who expands the potential of the vessel form by creating vibrant, “cyborgian” objects that acknowledge past ceramic traditions while advancing forward-thinking practices. In her own words: “I want to show the ceramic vessel as a future-form that can still hold memories of the past.” Born and raised in and outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ngo holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Ngo will be in residence at AMOCA September 2023–April 2024. 

Luke Shalan received his BFA with a focus in Ceramics from California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA. In addition, he studied at The Australian National University (School of Art) in Canberra, ACT and attended Penland School of Craft in Penland, NC. In 2016 Luke established Luke Shalan Techné, a design, consulting and fabrication studio based in California. Luke’s work can be seen at Lawson-Fenning’s showroom in Hollywood, CA and has been included in exhibitions, such as “CUBE//TOOL” at Bradley Duncan Studio; Sunset Magazine’s “IDEA HOUSE” in Santa Monica; and “Stienbesser Experimental Gastronomy Retrospective” at the CODA Museum, Netherlands. His work has been featured in publications including Sunset Magazine, Architectural Digest, POPEYE magazine, C-File, and The Method Case. Alongside his own practice, Luke has designed, consulted and produced ceramic work for many artists and designers namely Kelly Wearstler, Jenni Kayne, Chris Kallmyer and Bradley Duncan Studio. Luke currently resides in Sugarloaf, CA where he continues to operate Luke Shalan Techné and has embarked on a new venture, Stone and Leaf Tea Company, providing Gong Fu tea experiences and unique tea sets. Shalan will be in residence at AMOCA March–September 2024.

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Images

Images may be used only in coverage of AMOCA exhibitions and announcements as specified. For requests, contact the Communications Office at (909) 865-3146 or communications@amoca.org.

Natalia Arbelaez

Claudia Solórzano

Paige O’Toole

Jolie Ngo

Luke Shalan