Opens at Pinacoteca UdeC: Exhibition with Three Distinct Approaches to Porcelain

• Under the title “Porcelain: Three Cultures, Three Proposals, Three Women”, the exhibition features works by artists from Chile, South Africa, and Ireland.

With an opening held on October 2 in Room 5 of the Museo Casa del Arte José Clemente Orozco (Pinacoteca UdeC), the exhibition “Porcelain: Three Cultures, Three Proposals, Three Women” opened to the public. It brings together porcelain works by ceramists María Soledad González (Chile), Lizrae Meyer (South Africa), and Jackie Ball (Ireland). As the exhibition’s title suggests, each artist contributes works with varied techniques and concepts, yet all converge in the use of porcelain as a language.

The initiative dates back to the first semester of 2024, during an art residency in Italy where the three artists met for the first time. At this point of convergence, María Soledad González, a former professor with many years of teaching at the UdeC Department of Visual Arts, saw the opportunity to share Jackie’s and Lizrae’s different visions and experiences with porcelain. She invited them to Concepción—an invitation they accepted—launching a collaborative project financed by the artists themselves and driven by motivation, the pursuit of new experiences, and the will to share both their works and their knowledge.

In Lizrae Meyer’s case, the UdeC Department of Visual Arts welcomed her as an artist-in-residence, granting her access to its ceramic workshops between August and September. Within this framework, the works in the newly inaugurated exhibition were created exclusively for this occasion by the South African artist, using the same workshops where undergraduate students attend classes.

In Jackie Ball’s case, professional and family commitments prevented her from carrying out the same residency as Lizrae, but she arranged for her works to be shipped from Dublin to Concepción for the joint exhibition.

The Three Ceramists

María Soledad González was part of the first graduating class of the Visual Arts program at the University of Concepción. Shortly after graduating, she joined the same program as a faculty member, a position she held until 2016. Although she left teaching, she remains active as an artist, producing works and offering workshops related to ceramics. Among her most recent activities was an art residency in Italy, where she met Lizrae Meyer and Jackie Ball.

Even though she no longer has formal ties with the Department of Visual Arts, she maintains a close relationship with the institution, which enabled Lizrae’s residency and, consequently, ensured the production needed for the exhibition.

“My experience sharing during the residency was very good, and I felt that I had to pass on to the students of the Department of Arts what happened to me, even though it came at quite a late stage in my life. Since the students can’t travel there, I proposed to Liz and Jackie that they come to Chile so the students could have a close experience with artists working in a similar technique but from very different cultures,” she explains.

Regarding the works she presents in the exhibition, González highlights how, despite coming from different cultures, they all share concerns about similar issues, such as what is happening with humanity today. “My work seeks to show people that whoever you are, if you put in a little of yourself, something beautiful can be achieved. That is why I work with porcelain and black stoneware, because to me they are like two beautiful people who do not love each other; but if you treat them with care and respect their particularities, you can achieve results. That is why my work deforms, but it deforms beautifully, reflecting that we are capable of building a better world,” she explains.

For her part, Lizrae Meyer, an artist from Cape Town, South Africa, began her career as a graphic designer and later decided to dedicate herself to painting and contemporary ceramics. This path led her to spaces such as the 1000VASES exhibition during Milan Design Week in 2021, as well as learning opportunities in places like Faenza and Venice. It was in Venice that she met a paper artisan, with whom she conceived a collaboration between paper and porcelain. Her most recent residency brought her to meet María Soledad and Jackie—an encounter that, unknowingly, would lead to her first exhibition in South America.

Speaking about her works, she emphasizes that she likes to use porcelain to tell stories, and how her residency at the Department of Visual Arts was inspired by elements that captured her attention: language barriers, the shared history of coming from three countries that were once colonies, and the mural Presencia de América Latina. These aspects are complemented by other key elements in her work, such as the concepts of whisper, intimacy, intrigue, and mystery.

During the exhibition setup, she remarked: “I am very excited to see my work in Chile for the first time. Room 5 is beautiful, a very calm place. It will be wonderful to exhibit my work here, and it is very exciting to be outside my country and any comfort zone.”

Finally, Jackie Ball, an Irish artist based in Dublin, focuses her work on sculptural ceramics, often conceived for outdoor spaces. Among the highlights of her career, she mentioned her participation in the exhibition “Sculpture in Context” at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, where she won an award in 2016 and in which she currently serves as part of the organizing and curatorial committee.

Regarding the exhibition, she noted: “All the works for the exhibition are made with paper porcelain, a technique that makes porcelain much more dynamic and allows me to push the limits much further, which I truly enjoy.” She also shares Lizrae’s view on how valuable it is to engage in exchanges with artists and communities outside one’s own country.

With the residency concluded and the exhibition inaugurated, the remaining items on the agenda for the resident artists include a talk and workshops on porcelain techniques for students of the Department of Visual Arts. The exhibition “Porcelain: Three Cultures, Three Proposals, Three Women” will remain open until November 30 in Room 5 of the Museo Casa del Arte José Clemente Orozco (Pinacoteca UdeC).