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CUELLAR%2C+GUILLERMO

CUELLAR, GUILLERMO
CUELLAR, GUILLERMO
MINNESOTA

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I fell in love with the potter's wheel and the unpretentious beauty of old pots in college in 1970 Inspired by "A Potter's Book", by Bernard Leach, I studied the clay traditions of Est and West. I wanted to become a part of the historical sweet of this ancient and vital art form. I was confident that I could make the life of an artist potter a reality.

Travelling in Venezuela where I was born, I came across the baskets, pots, weaving and woodwork of native Indian people. Seeing their beautiful objects in context with daily use was a revelation. It was not only the handwork I loved but the way these pieces brought people together in vessels of the group's identity. The way the Indians relate to their art, close at hand in constant use, remains an ideal to me.

My pots are hybrids, created by the confluence of cultures that I am. Accident and surprise are elements I love in the work and in the process. My kiln is just unpredictable enough to be interesting. I nurture and encourage this uncertainty; no risk and failure: no growth. Now a new kiln, a soda kiln, is in the works - an exciting new risk.

Exquisite beauty can be found in objects made for use, for preparing and sharing food. These objects reveal themselves in use overtime. Are they generous, humorous, sensual? The human qualities that define who we are and what we care for can also be applied to our handwork. These pieces also have the happy quality of being accessible, not confined to a formal setting or behind glass. They are in our lives daily, often in use in our hands.

Victorian writer John Ruskin, instigator of the Arts and Crafts Movement, claimed design was inseparable from social conditions. His vision was startlingly contemporary. I am energized by our growing awareness of the need to add social and environmental concerns to our motivators. Eating local organic products in locally handmade vessels in a relaxed setting with friends or family is a good thing. This inspired me in Venezuela, seeing how the Indians' art work was integral to their lives and continues to inspire me today.

In the Midwest I have found a place that celebrates the value of making things better... environment, society and beautiful handmade objects. I am reminded of Ruskin's social values and the Indians' sense of community as I feel at home here, my family, myself and my work.

BIOGRAPHY
Guillermo was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1951 and grew up in Caracas.

He studied ceramics at Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where he met his wife Laurie MacGregor. After graduating he worked for the World Wildlife Fund in Venezuela before returning to pottery in 1980. He set up a studio in the village of Turgua, an hour southeast of Caracas, where he and Laurie raised their two children, Carlos and Alana and grew coffee. Guillermo made pots and had group sales in Turgua over the following 20 years.

In 2005 he established a studio and showroom in the upper St. Croix River valley near Shafer, Minnesota, where he currently lives and works.

EDUCATION/TRAINING
1984-2006
Shared workshop experience: Warren MacKenzie, summers
1981-1991
Workshops: Linda Christianson; Clary Illian; David Leach; Warran MacKenzie; Randy & Jan McKeachie-Johnston; Mark Pharis
1976
BA in Art (Honors), French and Geology from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA

EMPLOYMENT
1980-Present
Self-employed as a studio potter

GRANTS & AWARDS
2012
Artist Initiative Grant in Visual Arts, Minnesota State Arts Board, St. Paul, MN
2011
East Central Arts Council/McKnight Invidual Artist Grant, Mora, MN
2006
Artist Initiative Grant in Visual Arts, Minnesota State Arts Board, St. Paul, MN
1997
Vicente Emilio Sojo Silver Medal for Influence in Advancement of Culture in the state of Miranda, Caracas, Venezuela
1981
Carabobo University Prize for Utilitarian Ceramics, IX National Salon of the Arts of Fire, Valencia, Venezuela

COLLECTIONS
Mashiko Municipal Pottery Art Museum, Mashiko, Japan
Cornell College, Mr. Vernon, IA
Anoka Ramsey Community College, Coon Rapids, MN
Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN
Banco Mercantil, Caracas, Venezuela
Galería Nacional de Arte, Caracas, Venezuela

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2012
Tour de Force, St. Croix Galleries, ArtReach, Stillwater, MN
Reencuentro, Raymond Avenue Gallery, St. Paul, MN
Locals We Love, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
15th Annual Friends Show, Osceola, WI
2012 Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, IA
Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
GROUNDED, Schaller Gallery, Benton Harbor, MI
2011
Minnesota Nice, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
9th Annual It’s Only Clay Exhibition, Bemidji Community Art Center, Bemidji,
MN
Doug Hanson Legacy Show, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA
FRESH, Schaller Gallery, Benton Harbor, MI
2011 Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, IA
2010
Featured Artist, The Grand Hand Gallery, St. Paul, MN
Guillermo Cuellar Solo Exhibition, Schaller Gallery, Red Lodge, Montana
2009
Warm Pots for Cold Times, Guillermo Cuellar with Lisa Buck, Raymond Avenue Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota
New Host Studio: Minnesota Potters of the Upper St. Croix River
Minnesota Traditions: Potters of the Upper St. Croix River, Roswell Art Center West, Roswell, Georgia
2008
fiber for the walls, pots for the table, Howard Conn Fine Arts Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Form and Figure, Guillermo Cuellar with Doug Lew (watercolors and drawings), The Grand Hand Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota
2006-2007
Artist Initiative Grantees in Visual and Media Arts Exhibition, Minnesota State Arts Board, St. Paul Minnesota
4 SCORE: Guillermo Cuellar, Julia Galloway, Forrest Lesch-Middleton,
Craig Petey, TRAX Ceramics Gallery, Berkeley, California
2006
Solo show: Guillermo Cuellar, Pottery, Raymond Avenue Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota
2004
Solo show: Objects We Live With, Guillermo Cuellar; AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
2003
Solo show: Guillermo Cuellar: Los Objetos que Escogemos, Sala Mendoza, Caracas
Solo show: Guillermo Cuellar: Influences and Recent Work, Peter Paul
Luce Gallery, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
1997
Vivan los Artesanos! Fine Crafts from Guatemala, Panama and Venezuela, The 1997 Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington D.C.
Tracing Tradition: Warren MacKenzie, Wayne Branum, Guillermo Cuellar, Barbara Diduk, Shirley Johnson, Randy Johnston, Michael Simon, Sandy Simon, Mike Thiedeman, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

WORKSHOPS
2011
Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire, Workshop 1, Anoka Ramsey Community
College, Coon Rapids, MN
9th Annual It’s Only Clay National Juried Competition and Exhibition, Bemidji
Community Art Center with Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN
Taller Huara Huara, Santiago, Chile
2009
Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, MN
1998
Taller Huara Huara, Santiago Chile
1991-1997
Venezuelan Arts of Fire Association (AVAF), Caracas, Venezuela
1982
Sala Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela

MEDIA
Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Coon Rapids, MN
Documentary: Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire.
Minnesota Original/Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul, MN
Guillermo Cuellar, Episode #314.

PUBLICATIONS
Arroyo, Miguel
- Cuellar y la Cerámica Utilitaria
Catia, Venezuela: Galería de las Artes de Fuego de Caracas, Gobernación del Distrito Federal, 1992.
Asprino, Alberto
- Barros Comunicantes.
Caracas, Venezuela: Sala de Exposiciones CANTV, 1992.
- Diez presencias.
Las artes de fuego en Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Galería de
Arte Nacional, 1995.
- De Mar a Tierra.
Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela: Sala Cultural Corpoven, 1996.
- Intercambio 3.
Cerámica en pequeño formato. México, Puerto Rico, Venezuela. Catia.
- Venezuela: Museo Jacobo Borges, 1998.
Ceramico.con.ve Una mirada a la cerámica contemporánea venezolana.
Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Corp Group Centro Cultural, 2001.
- Barbieri, Nelly
El Movimiento Cerámico en Venezuela.
Caracas, Venezuela: Consejo Nacional de la Cultura, 1999.
- Caneschi, Gigliola
Guillermo Cuellar. Los Objetos Que Escogemos.
Caracas, Venezuela: Sala Mendoza, 2003.
- Ceramics Monthly
Studio Visit: Guillermo Cuellar. Ceramics Monthly, (April 2011: 36-39):
Charles Spahr, Westerville, OH, 2011.
- Erminy, Perán
Venezuelan Studio Ceramics.
London, England: British Crafts Centre, 1985.
- Galería Lis
Grupo Turgua, Trabajos Recientes.
San Cristóbal, Venezuela: Quinta Lisa Galería de Arte, 1999.
- Galería Vía
Cuellar.
Caracas, Venezuela: Galería Vía, 1990.
- Glück, David A.
Yunomi.
Israel: David A. Glück, 2010.
- Grupo Turgua Diez Anos
Caracas, Venezuela: Editorial Ex Libris y Grupo Turgua, 2003.
- Guevara, José Luis
Diez presencias. Las artes del fuego en Venezuela.
Guía de Sala No. 2. Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Galería de Arte Nacional,
1995.
- Guevara, Roberto
Arte y Fuego en Movimiento.
Caracas, Venezuela: Universidad Simón Bolívar, 1983.
- Kowalski, Andrea
“Ceramists Throw Out-of-Town Pottery Exhibition”.
In: The Daily Journal. Caracas, Venezuela: The Daily Journal, 1992 (Arts,
November 5).
- Láncara, Juan Carlos
Pluralidad y oficio.
Cerámica contemporánea venezolana en la Colección Banco Mercantil.
Caracas, Venezuela: Sala Mendoza y Banco Mercantil, 2000.
- Lange, Augusto et al
Asociación Venezolana de las Artes del Fuego 1979-1992.
Testimonio. Caracas, Venezuela: Editorial Arte, 1992.
- MacKenzie, Nancy and Warren
Guillermo Cuellar, una nueva dirección.
ESTEKA, Revista de Cerámica Contemporánea. (9:16-18). Santiago, Chile:
Huara Huara 1932, 2010.
- Monsalve, Yasmín
“En Turgua los ceramistas tienen su refugio”.
In: El Universal, Cultura y Espectáculos. Caracas, Venezuela: El Universal, 1998.
“La austera belleza de la cerámica”.
In: El Universal. Caracas, Venezuela: El Universal, 1998.
“La artesanía en otra dimensión”.
In: El Universal. Caracas, Venezuela: El Universal, 2001.
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
Intercambio 3. México, Puerto Rico, Venezuela. Cerámica en Pequeño
Formato. Puerto Rico: Museo de Arte contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, 1995.
- Pereira, Livia
“Objetos de Arte para la Vida Diaria. Cerámica y orfebrería del Grupo Truga"
In: DecorArt. Ambientes en Venezuela (11:78-85). Caracas, Venezuela:
Inversiones C.A., 2001.
- P.G.B.
Guillermo Cuellar. Un alfarero en busca de tradición.
In: El Universal, 19 de julio. Caracas, Venezuela: El Universal, 1985.
- Planetario Alfa
Intercambio 3. México, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
Cerámica en Pequeño Formato. Monterrey, México: Planetario Alfa, 1997.
- Reig, Ana
De Mano en Mano. Siete Ceramistas Venezolanos.
Caracas, Venezuela: Sala Mendoza, 1999.
- Smithsonian
15th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show and International Loan Exhibit, “Vivan los
Artesanos”. Washington D. C.: The National Building Museum, 1997.
- Suárez, David
“La cerámica como máxima celebración de lo cotidiano”.
In: El Diario de Caracas, Arte y Espectáculos. Caracas, Venezuela: El Diario de
Caracas, 1994.
- Universidad de Carabobo
VIII Salón Nacional de la Artes del Fuego. Valencia, Venezuela: Sala de
Exposiciones Braulio Salazar, Universidad de Carabobo, 1980.

CURRENT GALLERY REPRESENTATION
AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts
Last Chance Gallery, Lutsen, Minnesota
Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, Illinois
Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, Montana
Rochester Art Center, Rochester, Minnesota
Schaller Gallery, Benton Harbor, Michigan
The Grand Hand, St. Paul, Minnesota