Mutual Realms

Mutual Realms features a collection of contemporary paintings and ceramic works by artists Maria Uhase and José Arenivar-Gómez.

Together through conversations created between the creatures in their artwork and their own personal experiences, Uhase and Arenivar-Gómez touch upon both spirituality and the surreal in Mutual Realms.

This exhibition is organized by KINK Contemporary.

 MEET THE ARTISTS

José Arenivar-Gómez

Jose Arenivar-Gomez is a Mexican ceramics artist and educator based in Metro Detroit. He was born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico and immigrated with his family to the Las Cruces, NM in 2007 so that he could pursue higher education at New Mexico State University. Jose received his BFA in Drawing and Ceramics at NMSU in 2015 and his MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2018. His work has been shown nationally in venues like the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, David Salkin Creative and Cranbrook Art Museum. He currently works as a Glaze Technician and a Teacher at Pewabic Pottery.

His current body of work, Story Keepers, is a collection of coil-built, mythical, phallic, rabbit-like creatures that come from the depths of my subconscious. They invite him to reflect upon his experiences as a gay Mexican ceramic artist; explorations of sexuality, desire, suicide, alienation, depression and compassion. Jose chooses to work with clay because of the direct connection with the actions of touching and transforming.

José’s work is influenced by his curiosity in spiritual practices from Hispanic cultures where they call upon the energy of animal totems for help; and by his fascination with fairy tales and ancient mythologies from different cultures. José’s rabbit creatures are totems conjured to help in his self-awareness journey, and the viewer’s if allowed. They provide an invitation to stop, view, and gather information.

Maria Uhase

Maria Uhase is a painter and illustrator living and working in Northeast Ohio. Uhase completed a BA Studio Emphasis with a Minor in Painting and a Minor in Drawing from the Myers School of Art at the University of Akron (OH) in 2019. Much of the inspiration for her art comes from her daily experiences of the nature surrounding her home in the woods, travelling often to explore new environments, through her amateur research in various sciences, and learning from the people she knows and meets.

Using symbolism, figuration, and abundant details in her paintings and illustrations, Maria focuses on creating surreal narratives involving combinations of plants and animals in the natural world. These depictions of imaginarily mutated organisms covered in fungi, spiderwebs, insects, and leafy vines are portrayed as individual microcosms in liminal states. Though the origin stories of these works are founded in her personal emotional experiences, she invite viewers to participate in the storytelling as they discover hidden details, ironies, and tensions woven into these small worlds of interacting objects. Through our narratives she hopes we can share our perceptions and broaden our curiosity about the world, while exchanging information that may lead to new problem solving and mindfulness.