Jorge Wilmot, the most distinguished artisan ceramicist of Mexico, died January 12, 2012 in Tonala, México, at the age of 83. He has been credited with the introduction of stoneware and other high fire techniques to México. His work is known internationally for its austere, Oriental-inspired designs blended with Mexican motifs. He influenced generations of ceramicists at the school he established in Tonalá, Jalisco.
Jorge
began his own artistic studies at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas in the Academy
of San Carlos before going on to Europe. There he studied at the Instituto
Franco-Italiano in Paris, and worked in Sweden with ceramicist Limberg Koge
Londgren.
Returning
to México, he worked for the ceramics industry in Monterrey, making a number of
innovations in technique and design. He eventually relocated to Tonalá,
Jalisco, by the 1960s to establish his own workshop. When he arrived to Tonalá, he felt that many Mexican
ceramics were stuck in the past with no clear direction on how to adapt
tradition to the modern world. He also felt that much of Mexico’s ceramic
production had technically degraded. Using his international experience, he
experimented with new ceramic forms, and new methods of firing, becoming one of
the first artisan ceramicists to use gas ovens on a large scale. This
facilitated his introduction of stoneware techniques and the recreation of the
native “bruñido” pottery but fired at high temperatures. During this time he held annual
exhibits of his works at the Inés Amor Gallery bringing him much attention.
Wilmot
also influenced Mexican ceramics by the blending of traditional Mexican designs
and motifs with international and modern influences. Wilmot combined
pre-Hispanic designs and motifs with modern elements as well as international
influences, especially those from Asia.
Wilmot integrated Chinese crackled glazing (Jung Yao and Ko Yao) into a
number of his pieces along with “celadon” and pale blue hues. His designs show
a more austere Oriental influence rather than the common Mexican tradition of
adding Baroque elements.
He
was quoted as saying “La cerámica de las artes es una de las más antiguas y a
su vez de las más modernas” (Ceramics is one of the oldest and most modern art
forms.) He recognized to the need to preserve tradition and modify it.
The photos came from a retrospective of Jorge Wilmot at CASA in San Agustín Etla in January of 2010.
