”All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art.” Jorge Luis Borges
As part of her training for her Fine Arts diploma at The Art Students League of New York, Aldanondo began her journey Ceramics & Sculpture Design in 2022 with sculptor and ceramicist Yasumitsu Morito.
This shift to ceramics also led Aldanondo to explore realism and pursue her MFA at the New York Academy of Art to explore the anatomy of the human form, however Aldanondo's unique style in her creations in ceramics lie in the imperfections of the figure, which have come to be recognized as Aldanondo's signature style depicting humans and flies.
Aldanondo creates visual languages that speak to the intersection of art, identity, place and academia, focusing on the experiences of human vulnerability and the associated emotions that humans could experience both collectively as well as individually when facing injustice.
She believes that art and design can be used as a catalyst to engage the public in deeper examination of the cross-connections between humankind's unique identities and the common experience of social injustice, which according to research is a historically shared experience affecting different groups.Aldanondo seeks to create conscience of humankind's unique identities and the shared experience of the ‘powerless.’
Her work asks the audience to acknowledge another’s unique experience, the collective experience, and the importance of recognizing the social structures that intervene in creating commonly shared realities for certain groups or individuals.Her work may also represent the individual story of any human being experiencing being mistreated, ignored, or dehumanized.
The fly acts as the catalyst asking the viewer to recognize the person or group experiencing a specific reality imposed on the subjects she depicts. Her work “Fly on a Woman” was recently selected to take part of the juried exhibition at the Nippon Gallery, curated by Ohi Chozaemon (Toshio), the 11th Generation Ohi Potter; Shinichi Doi,former conservator, The Metropolitan Museum; Cora Rosevear, former Associate Curator, Museum of Modern Art; Professor Miyeko Murase, Takeo and Itsuko Atsumi Professor Emerita, Columbia University and former Special Consultant for Japanese Art at The Metropolitan Museum. The exhibition was in collaboration with Carnegie Hall, New York, the Consulate of Japan in New York, to benefit NeonArts.
Aldanondo also explores abstract expressionism through her work in ceramics, taking her compositions in painting into a 3D option through this medium.
Aldanondo says: "My work in ceramics is about standing up for and sitting with the powerless, the innocent, those finding themselves in situations where they're not seen, where they're not protected, where they're not valued, who may transit life in situations of of injustice, because of the social structures that make up our world or their unique experiences. I sit with the powerless, with the innocent, with the mistreated, always. There is power and light found in times of darkness, not without but within; often leading to a revelation in strength of character and a resilient spirit. My work seeks to ignite light on that possibility while asking the viewer to consider looking within and looking at others and recognizing their humanity, while questioning their role in society and how they interact with situations of injustice and suffering."
*Clay Flies and Fly Art is a registered Trademark owned by Susana Aldanondo
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