Claudia V. Solórzano: Urban Alchemy

About

In her first solo show at Craig Krull Gallery, Los Angeles-based artist Claudia V. Solórzano presents a series of modern artifacts: vessels, decorative gates, and domestic objects informed by global mythology and a curiosity about labor and ephemerality. Solórzano explores both interior and exterior worlds in her work, fusing the domestic and architectural, the feminine and masculine. Solórzano crafts the individual components of her pieces—often using shaping and extrusion processes that mimic domestic chores, like baking—then stacks, coils, and bonds her materials like a builder erecting a shelter or a passageway.

Solórzano’s vessels are a combination of clay types and architectural elements which reflect personal and historical influences, including the Mexican and Salvadoran cultures of Solórzano’s family; the Chinese, Japanese, and Gothic architecture throughout Los Angeles; and Voudou vèvè symobology. Working with clay is always an alchemical process, and each clay body responds differently to salt-firing: one might take on a glossy finish, while another rejects the salt and roughens up. The visible stratification of Solórzano’s vessels resembles that of the earth—a nod to past geological and archaeological eras—as well as the stacked architecture of City Terrace, the L.A. neighborhood where she grew up. Miniature gates appear as specters of the large, wrought iron structures across the city, serving as thresholds or meeting sites; metal symbolizes strength and endurance, while delicate, woven elements allude to traditional women’s crafts. The pieces are all amalgamations, both humble and regal, ancient and contemporary. They are portraits of a place defined by cross-pollination. They are portals to the past, and conduits to the future.