Gustavo Pérez
If Mexico designated “National Living Treasures,” as Japan does, Gustavo Pérez would surely be at the top of the list. He stands alone as the only Mexican ceramic artist who is internationally celebrated and admired. His work is exhibited in the top galleries in Tokyo, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City (including the Franz Mayer Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and Bellas Artes), and now, San Miguel de Allende. His most recent triumph is a large installation of over 1,000 components that recently opened at the Anthropological Museum in Xalapa, Veracruz.
A Lifetime of Artistic Exploration
We have an extraordinary opportunity here in San Miguel: to view a rare and extensive collection that highlights the depth of his ceramic vision. The exhibition at Galería Atotonilco presents more than one hundred vessels and sculptures by Pérez, the largest collection of his work that has ever been assembled for sale. It represents work that Pérez created over a span of nearly thirty years, from the mid-1980s to the present.
Many ceramic artists emphasize either form or surface design in their creations. One of the signature elements of Pérez’s work is the elegant marriage of both. His forms, with innovative surface designs, show a level of technical mastery and aesthetic refinement rarely seen in contemporary ceramics. His precise, disciplined approach reveals a lifelong freedom to experiment without boundaries.
One cannot understand Pérez’s work without appreciating its roots in Japanese ceramics, a major influence for him. His pieces combine discipline, intuition, and quiet power — created effortlessly, like “Zen marks.”
Technique, Influence, and Vision
According to curator Martha Carmi Clark, “When you look at Gustavo Pérez’s work, you do not see objects with merely superficial emotion that rest at a museum’s edge. Pérez has always been consistent, but not rigid or fixed. His vessels have always been read as contemplative visions for worship, dreams, hopes, fantasies, offerings, and honesty.”
Gustavo Pérez has transformed ceramics into fine art. Throughout his long career, he has continued to explore and push the boundaries of his medium. His work is a magnet — it commands attention.
Pérez grew up in Mexico City. Before he discovered his passion for clay, he studied engineering, mathematics, and philosophy — where he finally felt unfulfilled and disengaged. His chance encounter with clay in 1971 set in motion his lifelong commitment to ceramics. He has held major exhibitions throughout Europe and has collaborated with ceramic masters around the world. Pérez has maintained his studio near Xalapa in the state of Veracruz for more than thirty years.
