Shenny Cruces

Website:

www.shennycruces.com

Biography: 

Shenny Cruces received a BA in Ceramics from Illinois State University and Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics from San Francisco State University.  Her work has appeared in shows nationally and internationally and includes NCECA Biennial at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Monumental Clay at Palo Alto Art Center, and at CRETA Rome.  Her work has received numerous awards and residencies including Murphy Cadogan Fellowship from San Francisco Foundation, and a Kiln God Award Residency at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and summer residency at CRETA Rome, Italy.  Ms. Cruces is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Ceramics at San Joaquin Delta College.

Artist Statement: 

It is hard for me to call a place home.  I grew up as an Air Force brat moving from base to base every two or four years.  Thus, I learned early on that home is family and the objects with which one chooses to surround oneself with more than the place one lives.  In my adult life, living far away from my family has furthered my connection to objects and the memories associated with them.

The act of collecting is an intrinsic part of my process and my work.  I actively seek out objects that were once loved and displayed within the home but now reside within junk stores and resale shops. These objects are now empty vessels devoid of the personal and familial memories they once held.

I use recognizable objects associated with collecting and china cabinets to engage with the viewer’s sense of home and memory.  I collect, cast, recreate and alter existing porcelain objects into sculptural forms to expose the underlying issues of class, sexual identity, memory and the meaning of objects in our lives.