Studio visits have become an integral part of my work in recent years, and the one I find most inspiring; it is only when you meet the artist behind the work, that you can fully comprehend it. This morning, I was hosted, together with my class in the Long-Island-City-based studio of Venezuelan-born ceramicist Reinaldo Sanguino. While ceramics have enjoyed a spectacular revival in recent years, Sanguino has contributed his own language, borrowing his art and skills to creating furniture of clay. Living in New York City for the past 25 years, Sanguino has brilliantly captured the energy of the City through graffiti, the ‘Subway Art’ as it was famously coined by Henry Chalfant, which was originated in the NY Subway, and which is now flourished in such neighborhoods as Bushwick. His furniture is crafted on the wheel and in molds, mixing different clays, dried before being painted in a spontaneous, abstract, colorful style, which is clearly his own. Unlike the ephemeral graffiti, which has tended to be charged with political contents, Sanguino’s furniture manifest joy, happiness, freshness, hope, of the type anyone wants to live with. Thank you, Reinaldo for enlightening our morning, and for Laura Young and David Alhadeff of The Future Perfect for making this event possible. All images of objects are courtesy @The Future Perfect
