| | |  Vallarta Living | Art Talk | March 2009 
T. Fuller Fine Art Presents Manuel Morales
 PVNN
| | Mr. Morales will attend the opening on April 3. The public is invited to attend. For additional information, please contact the T. Fuller Fine Art gallery manager, Lynn Auch at (322) 222-8196. | |
Puerto Vallarta - On April 3, 2009, Luis Manuel Morales Gamez, a premier ceramic artist, returns to T. Fuller Fine Art, Corona 169, for a special retrospective of his work.
Although Morales has achieved a worldwide audience, his roots are in Tzintzuntzan, the small mountain community of his birth near Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan. His ceramics are rooted in Mexico's pre-Hispanic heritage, in the complex and profound reflection of the natural world around him and in the day-to-day life of his home village.
Tzintzuntzan, which means the place of hummingbirds, is the ancient capital of the Tarascan Empire. This region has for many centuries been the center of many types of ceramic artesenias thanks to the vision of a priest turned prosecutor, Don Vasco de Quiroga, who removed from power Nuno de Guzman, the second in command of Cortez's army who was particularly harsh toward the indigenous population.
Quiroga educated the people of the eight villages around the lake while encouraging each area to focus on ceramic artesenias. As a result, the Patzcuaro region where Morales' family has engaged in ceramics production for several generations is well-known for the diverse quality and uniqueness of its pottery using techniques range from purely pre-Colombian to colonial Spanish methods and ranging from functional cookware to complex gallery. Morales' work is the quintessential museum-quality work to emerge from this region.
In Tzintzuntzan, Morales can be found near some of the oldest olive trees in the New World which flank an old outbuilding of the church that serves as his workshop. There he creates lead-free high-fire glaze ware decorated with skillfully designed adaptations of ancient Purepecha symbols.
Morales' extremely complex three-dimensional work is crafted on a non-electric wheel and fired in a gas kiln. His more modern, but extremely time-consuming, approach differs markedly from the old-style approach of other ceramicists, especially the work produced by his great grandmother who was one of the most recognized figures in the development of the current artistic expressions for which this region is known.
The high volcanic peaks, lakes, wildlife and other environmental elements also figure prominently in Morales' expressions of this region.
Morales' ceramics are widely recognized nationally, regionally and internationally. He has been honored with numerous prizes and awards throughout the state of Michoacan and Mexico. His work has been featured in exhibits in Europe and the U.S. and is part of the permanent collections in established museums in Mexico, the U.S., and Europe.
Mr. Morales will attend the opening on April 3. The public is invited to attend. For additional information, please contact the T. Fuller Fine Art gallery manager, Lynn Auch at (322) 222-8196. |
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