Greetings, fellow cosmopolites!
I trust your summer months were filled with adventures – near and far – and buckets of joy. Here at CAFAM, we celebrated the commencement of the harvest season by opening a 50-year retrospective exploring the work of ceramist Dora De Larios. Learn more about Dora’s pan-cultural, artistic vision below and check out the gallery photos for a blast of whimsy and feminine power today!
While Dora De Larios may have been born into a Mexican-American family, she is a true citizen of the world – a cosmopolite. Raised with a deep respect for her own cultural inheritance, Dora embraced the ethnic diversity of her native Los Angeles with delight and curiosity from an early age. She continued to feed her insatiable interest in world religions and culture through her studies and travel. Dora’s work reflects a deep reverence for our shared humanity as sublimely expressed in folk traditions and rituals from around our magnificent globe. Rooted in the belief that all cultures contain wisdom and beauty, Dora’s art is imbued with multiculturalism in both shape and spirit. Dora’s emotional intensity and connection to all elements of life – including its shadows – are revealed in her signature plaques, masks, totems, and intimate animal figurines.
The Goddess, known by many names – Asarte, Isis, Ishtar – reigned supreme in the cradle of civilization for eons producing prosperity and peace. Worshipped for her fertility, the Goddess was revered as the wise creator, the source of universal order, and the provider of culture. While systematically marginalized in modern times or erased from written histories, the power of the Goddess, as embodied in the feminine form, lives on in ancient temples, objects, carvings and paintings throughout the world.
For Dora, the Goddess reflects “a life-long interest in the divine, the symbolism and its interpretation in various cultures.” As a college student in the mid 1950’s, Dora learned about “ancient times when women had temples dedicated to them” and pondered the current state of women’s power and societal roles. The thread of the feminine from Babylonian figurines, to pre-Columbian sculpture, to Mayan rituals, to a contemporary concern for “Mother Earth,” is evident in Dora’s devotion to the Goddess and the spiritual aspects of life.
While Dora knew early on that she was born to create beauty, it was not until her fingers touched the earthly offering of clay that she found her beloved medium. With the Goddess as muse, a vivid imagination, and a cosmopolitan worldview, Dora has created a vast array of dynamic ceramic and sculptural works in the course of her 50-year career. Possessing a deep understanding of her chosen medium, Dora is able to move from intimate clay sculptures to life-size totems and immense public installations with fluid grace. Besides her innovative designs, the vibrancy and sheer life-force of Dora’s glazes, which transmit unadulterated colors of planet Earth, effortlessly lure the viewer into a state of happiness. Dora’s works are joyful (with a few exceptions), bold, and memorable. And yes, Dora De Larios herself is joyful, bold, and memorable.
Let the Goddess reign again!
Ms. Cosmopolite
Check out these gallery shots!
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