Carlos Alfonzo: Clay Works and Painted Ceramics

Carlos Alfonzo’s prolific works in clay and painted ceramics are inextricably connected to the formal evolution of his large paintings and sculptures. In a productive decade, he painted myriad molded ceramic wares with great verve and skill. At the same time, in immense physical efforts, he personally made and glazed all the tiles for his two iconic public murals in South Florida: Ceremony of the Tropics (at the Santa Clara Metrorail station) and Brainstorm (at the FIU campus). The exhibition presents his works with clay and ceramics in the context of contemporaneous paintings, drawings and other small-scale works.

Born in Havana, Alfonzo migrated to the United States during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. Previous exhibitions in Miami (Viso, 1997 and Herzberg, 2000) showcased the artist’s short but acclaimed career until his death at the age of 40 in 1991. Organized by Miami-based artist and curator César Trasobares, this exhibition celebrates Alfonzo’s prodigious oeuvre and marks the 25th anniversary of his passing.