For immediate release
Zenith Gallery Presents:
EARTH FIRE STONE – The Works of Hadrian Mendoza
With the support of Ambassador and Mrs. Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
Show Dates: April 28 -September 26, 2015
Opening Reception to Meet the Artist: Friday, May 15, 5-8 pm
At 1111 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20004
Read about Hadrian Mendoza in the Manila Bulletin
Filipino artist, Hadrian Mendoza, is unlike any other ceramist you have ever seen. Heavily influenced by his native country, Mendoza has mastered how to manipulate clay, glaze, and firing techniques to create artistic works that extend beyond the traditional categories of pottery, into skillfully crafted and artistically envisioned stoneware objects and vessels. Mendoza began his career, in his words, as an ‘accidental potter.’ While on vacation in the Philippines in the late 1990’s, Mendoza saw some pieces that sparked his interest in pottery. He felt so passionately drawn to the medium that he went back to the United States for a while, to get his affairs in order, and then promptly returned to become a “full-time” potter.
For the past 18 years, Mendoza has steadily gained expertise and recognition. As you might expect, Mendoza has a strong following in the Philippines, but he’s also now gaining international recognition. In November of 2005, The Toyota Foundation based in Tokyo, Japan, awarded Mendoza the “Asian Neighbors Network Program Grant.” This three-year grant award enabled Mendoza to establish and curate “Ring of Fire,” the 1st Southeast Asian Ceramics Exhibition and Conference. This event was held in 2007, and was hosted by The Ayala Museum, in Makati City, Philippines. In the words of the Toyota Foundation, this grant program is designed to ‘unlock Southeast Asia’s potential.’
In 2012, Hadrian was awarded the “FuLe International Ceramic Arts Museum Grant” (FLICAM). The FLICAM enabled him to fund the next Southeast Asian Ceramics Exhibition and Conference. This grant was provided by The FuLe International Ceramic Arts Museum, based in Fuping, China. This second Southeast Asian Ceramics Exhibition and Conference was hosted by the Taipei County Yingee Ceramics Museum, in Taipei, Taiwan. This event was held in May of 2012. Mendoza titled the conference’s companion exhibit “Clay Unity: Celebrating Southeast Asia’s Diversity.”
In 2014, Mendoza was awarded an “Asian Cultural Council Humanities Fellowship Grant” (ACCHFG). This funding enabled him to hold the third Southeast Asian Ceramics Festival and Exhibition. This event was held in October of 2014, and hosted by The Workhouse Arts Center. The Workhouse Arts Center is a venue where Hadrian has been working as a Resident Artist since March of 2010.
Besides dedicating much of his time to studio work, Mendoza has also been teaching ceramics since 2004. In addition to teaching ceramics at his own ceramics school, he also taught ceramics at The Philippine High School for the Arts, in Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines, and acted as the Chair of the Ceramics Department for The Brent International School, based in Manila.
Having quickly generated popularity and establishing himself as a prominent figure in the local art community, Mendoza was presented with the “Anne and Arnold Abramson Award for Excellence in Ceramics” by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Washington DC in April of 1997. In both 1996 and 1997, Mendoza was awarded the title Ceramic Artist of the Year by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Washington DC.
Mendoza’s work can be found in numerous galleries and museums worldwide, including: The Ayala Museum in Makati City, Philipines, 2014; The BenCab Museum, in Benguet, Philippines, 2014; The Philippine Center, in New York City, 2012 and 2011; The Reston Museum, Reston, Virginia, 2011, and the Romulo Hall, Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines, Washington, D.C., 2010. He has participated in group shows around the United States in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, and Washington D.C., and worldwide in Thailand, Australia, Belgium, China, South Korea, Japan, Croatia and elsewhere.
Mendoza’s works can also be found in prestigious collections, including: Consul General Cecile Rebong; the Governor of Jakarta, Indonesia, Fauzi Bowo; Robert E. A. Borje, of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations; Ambassador to the Philippines Jose Cuisia, Jr.; and Consul General Mario L. de Leon Jr.
Early 2015, Mendoza was selected by Kohler’s Bold.Art.Asia Campaign as one of five outstanding Asian ceramicists. This campaign awarded grants to five outstanding Asian ceramicists and five outstanding Asian metalwork artists. These ten artists’ work will be displayed in five different countries, beginning May of 2015, with a show in Bangkok, Thailand.
Hadrian’s next adventure – immediately following both his Zenith Art Gallery solo show and his work on the Kohler Bold.Art.Asian campaign – is an exhibit titled “Balance,” which will be on display at the Ayala Museum in Makati City, Philippines, scheduled for December 4-18, 2015.
Where: 1111 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Exhibit on Display: April 28 – September 26, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 15, 5–8 pm
Information: Margery Goldberg, 202-783-2963, margery@zenithgallery.com
Gallery Hours: Monday– Friday 8 am- 7pm (Weekends and evenings enter on 12th St. NW DC 20004; knock and the guard will let you in 24/7.)
World Music Performance:
World Music Performance by Stream and the Pocket Dragons consists of flutes and other wind instruments, Turkish lute, bass, didgeridoos and drums of many kinds to create rhythms from the Middle East, Africa and Brazil.
Performance time, Friday, May 15th, 6:30-7:30 pm
Now celebrating 37 years in the nation’s capital, Zenith is recognized for its unique mix of contemporary art in a wide variety of media, style and subject. The gallery provides high-quality acquisition, art consulting, commissioning, appraisal and framing services, through its gallery/salon/ sculpture garden off 16th Street at 1429 Iris St NW, WDC 20012. Zenith also curates rotating exhibits at the Eleven Sculpture Space at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, WDC 20004.