Ceramic Artist Panel & Making Activity

The Scripps College Ceramic Annual is the longest-running exhibition featuring contemporary ceramics in the nation. The Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery’s Ceramic Annual guest curators explore new art and new ideas in the field.

For the 81st Annual, entitled Means to an End, curator and ceramic artist Reniel Del Rosario selected artists who intentionally incorporated ceramics into their artistic practices–who feel an innate connection with clay–to create pieces that could have been achieved using other media. So why clay? Find out by joining us for this program!

Del Rosario will be in conversation with LA-based artists Karen Kuo, Patrick Martinez, and Victor Saucedo, who use ceramics as a springboard for innovation and dialogue across diverse media. Following this discussion on contemporary artists’ enduring fascinating with clay, participants who register will have the opportunity to make their own work which they can take home! The maker’s activity will be led by the Williamson Gallery’s Collections & Exhibitions Manager, and ceramic artist, T. Robert Pacini.

Means to an End opens February 7th, from 7-9 PM, at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery (251 E. 11th St. in Claremont). Attendees are highly encouraged to view the exhibition in advance of this program. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 12-5 PM.

RSVP Required — Click to Register!

Karen Kuo (b. 1993) is an artist working in painting and sculpture. She translates images between flat and volumetric forms, generating variations that echo natural growth and mutation. Guided by self-devised systems, she interprets awe and wonder in nature through geometric, mandalic compositions. Kuo received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work was recently acquired by the Morgan Stanley Art Collection. Kuo is a 2026 Vermont Studio Center Fellow and has exhibited at Cuchifritos (NYC), Ladies’ Room (LA), the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan), and internationally at Contemporary Istanbul.

Patrick Martinez (b. 1980, Pasadena, CA) is a Los Angeles–based artist whose work examines language, place, memory, and the social histories embedded in the American landscape. Working across neon, painting, sculpture, and installation, he draws from vernacular signage, archival imagery, and public text to explore power, erasure, and resilience, particularly within communities of color. Martinez has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Broad, and the Smithsonian, and his work is held in major public and private collections. He lives and works in Los Angeles and is represented by Charlie James Gallery.

Photo credit for Patrick Martinez’s headshot: Gabriel Noguez

Victor Saucedo is a second-generation Latinx artist based between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Working across ceramics, sculpture, installation, and digital collage, their practice examines white American history, cultural erasure, and systems of power through material experimentation and archival reference. Saucedo’s work often integrates social practice, community workshops, and collective authorship as methods of care and resistance. They have exhibited and curated projects throughout the Bay Area and are currently pursuing an MFA in Ceramics at UCLA.

Reniel Del Rosario (b. Iba, Philippines) uses ceramics, quantity, and satire to discuss themes of commodification and value. His projects range from interactive mimicries of consumer establishments, to reimaginings of artifacts, to imperfect copies of already-existing objects. He holds a BA in Art Practice from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a 2019 recipient of the Center for Craft’s Windgate-Lamar fellowship, a 2022 SFMOMA Artists Soapbox Derby racer, and has been featured in writings such as ARTFORUM and Bon Appetit. His work has been exhibited internationally through traditional and alternative venues such as West Coast Craft, Meta Open Arts, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Catharine Clark Gallery, the 79th Scripps College Ceramics Annual, Load Na Dito, San Francisco Art Fair, Praise Shadows Art Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Jane Lombard Gallery, and simply on the public sidewalk. Del Rosario was an artist-in-residence at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in Pomona, CA from September 2024–August 2025.