by Inger Pedreáñez
Photos and videos courtesy Daniel Reynolds and Juan Bermúdez.
Versión original en español.
As a boy of nine, the sculptor Daniel Reynolds (@danielreynoldsstudio) one day found himself at Maiquetía (Caracas Airport), ready to board a plane for England. He had vaguely thought that he was going on a family holiday. He did not realise, though it had been explained by his parents, that he was leaving behind his school chums. He did not really take in, to what extent this trip across the Atlantic would change his life; to the point of reinforcing a purpose, a motivation. Now, in retrospect, he knows that the move helped to shape his art practice as a meeting of two worlds.
Despite maintaining links with the country of his birth by regular visits to Caracas and Güiria, where his mother is from, this distance rather than stagnate into nostalgia became more of an inspiration. It allowed him to recognise certain elements which had coloured his visual language; such as the emerging modernity of his native city with everywhere examples of modern art incorporated into its brave new architecture.
His family home abounded in contemporary art and its appreciation was a given. The work of Jesús Soto was one of his early artistic references, as was the seeming simplicity of the paintings of Armando Reverón.
The French/German sculptor Jean Arp was also a familiar figure through his sculptures in the University of Caracas, (Universidad Central de Venezuela), today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as was the work of Alexander Calder, also present on the university campus. Other influences on his later work were London born Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva, Fruto Vivas, architect, and Cornelis Zitman, the Dutch/Venezuelan furniture designer and sculptor. These artists may have influenced his forays into furniture design, in which he engaged for around 10 years after graduating, before choosing clay as his main medium.
“Though there were certainly times when I was not able to sell my pieces, I never stopped working at it. Whilst studying sculpture and painting, I felt it might be hard to make a decent living from these, and embarked on a BA honours course in three-dimensional design. It was there that I specialised in furniture design, with the resulting pieces being also sculptural and handmade.”
Owing in part to this training, the art collector and cultural promoter Dennis Schmeichler invited him to show at Casa Caruba in Caracas in 1991. It was a chance for Daniel to get to know the carpentry workshop Dennis had equipped in Quibor, in north-west Venezuela. “I lived there for about three months. It was a good opportunity to get to know the tropical woods and how to work with them. Together with the craftsmen in the workshop we created some beautiful pieces of furniture. Some of these will shortly form part of the interiors for a new boutique hotel being built in Margarita, (a Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela).”
From wood to ceramics. Photos: courtesy of Daniel Reynolds.
The unusually well rounded art training he received at his English public school helped to form the basis for Reynolds’ creative future. It felt like a natural process to be modelling clay in the school’s Art Department, and the evocations of modernist Venezuela, with its emphasis on geometric abstraction played an important part in determining his future signature in abstract sculpture.
“In 2000 I was curious to see whether there might be a gallery in Venezuela which could be interested in my ceramics. Unsure of how to go about it, I looked in the Yellow Pages (!) for the number of the only art gallery which I remembered from my childhood there. This was the Sala Mendoza Gallery. At that time its director was Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, who gave me a warm and enthusiastic welcome. My first Caracas exhibition, called “Simultaneos” was held there at the start of 2001. It was curated by the contemporary ceramics collector Juan Carlos Láncara.“
Reynolds maintained his ties with Sala Mendoza through successive exhibitions, this time with Ruth Auerbach as director of the gallery. These were not his only contacts with the art scene there. In 2004 he took part in the ceramics biennial “Barro de America” (“Clay of America”) organised by the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Art, in Caracas. That same year he had exhibitions at Centro de Arte Lia Bermudez in Maracaibo and at the Quinta Anauco in Caracas. In June 2023 one of his abstract mobile sculptures was included in a group show at Beatriz Gil Galería in Caracas. Around the same time he set up his solo exhibition “New Sculpture and Ceramics” at The Butter Factory, a new art space in Camberwell, London, where he has his studio.
On 25 November 2023 Fundación Serpentina on the Caribbean island of Margarita opened the exhibition entitled “The Twenties – New Ceramics from El Cercado – Bermúdez, Reynolds and Company”, curated by Tahía Rivero. Ceramic vessels and other objects by Juan Bermúdez, Jesús Alfonzo, Christopher Domínguez, Joseph Martínez, Juan Pablo Martínez, José Agustín Bermúdez, Fenyervi Alfonzo, and Juan’s sisters Josmary and Amarylis Bermúdez are shown together with sculptures and reliefs by Daniel Reynolds in a nuanced blending of tradition and innovation.
“The Twenties” exhibition at Serpentina Foundation.
Renewing Tradition
There is a thread running through these lines: the connection which Daniel Reynolds maintained with Venezuela allowed him to be recognised by collectors and contemporary art historians in the country.
His stay in Quibor deepened his understanding and interest in local art and practices. This fact together with his work in ceramic sculpture made him the ideal candidate for the new project of Jimmy Belilty, president of Fundación Serpentina (2021) in Margarita. Belilty has set out to increase the presence of art and culture in its various forms, on the island. He has a project for the endowment of a ceramics school and workshop; an idea which has also greatly motivated the contemporary art curator and investigator Tahía Rivero, who initiated the contact between artist and collector.
“On one occasion Jimmy came to see me in Margarita, and he liked my little house so much that he went about purchasing the house next door! He restored it, and it is there that he created the Serpentina Foundation. It is his intention to make of Margarita an important centre for art with relevant events and exhibitions. He has invited art critics and collectors from around the world to his Foundation. He also invited the Paris-based Venezuelan artist Jorge Pedro Nuñez to do an art residency in there in 2022. When he talked to me about creating a ceramics school, I took him at his word and proposed a residency for Daniel Reynolds because I knew Daniel would be interested in working with local craftsmen and craftswomen. He had already been in Quíbor making art furniture in a similar situation, and I have followed his work since he first showed at the Sala Mendoza Gallery in 2001.” says Tahía Rivero.
–¿Did you know the village of El Cercado, Daniel?
I knew the name. I knew that it was a place in Margarita known for traditional pottery, but I had never been. I had seen the work but was not able to discern whether it originated from there in particular. It was a fantastic discovery for me. I was there in December of last year when we went to meet Juan Bermúdez.
It is worth touching on the story he tells of their first meeting: The young man of 24 greeted him with great reverence, “Welcome to my humble abode” he says removing his hat as a mark of respect. Daniel was surprised at such formality, but more surprises were in store. “We spent a marvellous afternoon together. We spoke of ceramics and vessels generally. I explained that I wanted to make mobile sculptures and some wall hung reliefs, if time allowed.”
Communication about work plans continued in writing on Daniel’s return to England. On the day he arrived back in the village of El Cercado in April 2023 to begin his art residency he found a house full of youngsters of all ages. Orlimar, Juan’s wife has a baby daughter and two adolescent sons, Juan Pablo and Joseph Martinez. Juan’s sisters Josmary and Amarylis also make ceramics to sell from their open air studio. Also there, was Christopher Dominguez, a young neighbour, who helps in the process. In his own house he is not allowed to touch the clay, it being the reserve of the adults; (understandable to some extent, given the arduous process of creating it, bringing the raw material as they do, from a distant mountain known as El Cerro de la Cruz.)
“It turns out the youngsters were Juan’s assistants for processing and kneeding the clay and for moving pieces from here to there. When I asked them ‘where are your pieces? Can I see them?’ they replied that they do make vessels but these are not carried through to the firing stage; they break them at the raw stage in order to recycle the clay for Juan to use. They did not risk making pieces which may not be good enough to sell. Knowing this, I helped to put conditions in place which allowed them to make some pieces under my tutelage and to take these to completion. The results were really superb.“
Over the course of the interview Daniel shows the photos and videos he took of the work of these youngsters. He shared this creative space initially with Joseph Martínez, Christopher Domínguez, Jesús Alfonzo and of course Juan Bermúdez. The experience of these youngsters, to which Daniel’s visit gave rise, continues to yield positive results. He heard, once back in England, that Juan Pablo Martínez (Joseph’s older brother) and José Agustín Bermúdez (Juan’s younger brother), had also joined the group in experimenting and making new pieces in clay.
Reynolds has acted as a sort of ‘ad honorem’ representative or intermediary to make this work from El Cercado village better known outside Margarita. He travelled to Caracas with a suitcase full of pieces made by all in the group, and through an agreement with its previous and present directors, has had them accepted at the prestigious TAC Gallery in Las Mercedes, a sector of Caracas.
Leaping Past the Past
The pottery tradition of El Cercado village dates back to at least the 17th century. Plates, jugs, cooking pots and vases are pieces usually sold to the tourists that still come, at extremely low prices. The style has not varied much over time; but things may be changing in that regard, which has upset some of the more conservative potters who would prefer things always to remain as they are.
Visitors know they have arrived at El Cercado village, near Santa Ana, when a wall displaying large pots fixed onto columns, comes into view. At present these pots which signal the beginning of the village, are looking a little the worse for wear; with some cracked and others almost entirely missing.
It is generally the older women of the village who continue the tradition of hand building, using ancestral techniques. However, there is a change afoot among a growing number of youngsters who have been encouraged by Reynolds’ visit, and are creating new objects of their own design, while still honouring their tradition of making.
A group of pieces produced at El Cercado in Bermúdez Studio.
The sculptor shows me one of the new pieces made by the youngsters and describes the finishing process. “For burnishing I imagined the piece still had to be leather hard, that is partially dry, but instead they allow the pieces to dry completely under that Margarita sun and it is then that they begin burnishing. This is followed by a low temperature wood firing. The result is a rich, burnished, smoky finish. They are very beautiful.”
In truth, the pottery production of the village as a whole, has followed certain patterns and models; with little variation, if any, between workshops. The pieces, despite being for sale at extremely low prices, are often the subject of determined haggling on the part of tourists. During his stay, Reynolds tried to show his young students ways in which they could best position their work; also ways of generally raising their objectives. “Continue, of course, selling the pieces you are currently making, but think also about making more individual pieces of your own design, for other markets further afield. Also please sign and date your work. Each piece should act as ambassador to you and to El Cercado Village.”
Pieces produced by Reynolds at the Studio.
Some of the resulting new pieces were inspired by natural gourd bowls, these being in every day use around the house. There was no time on this occasion to make plaster moulds of these gourds, so they used the actual gourd bowls as starting points. “I said to them, I am known to collectors in Venezuela in part, for gourd bowls which I made some time ago using fine English porcelain; because of my Venezuelan and English heritage and because I often work with this material, I wanted these pieces to be an expression of my two cultures. But I cannot be the only one to create these shapes. You are surrounded by Gourd trees. You use gourds in every day life. Use what you have and know!”
What was initially planned as an artist’s residency in which Reynolds would concentrate on his own project within a new creative environment, soon became an exchange of ideas and experiences in which his focus was concentrated on realising and encouraging the potential of the younger members of the studio. “I said to them: In some cases, the terms Potter or Country Crafter can become a sort of prison. You are all ceramic artists. Your talent and the sophistication of the forms you are producing are self-evident.”
Reynolds working at Juan Bermúdez open-air studio during his residency.
Reynolds points out: “I came to learn about local wood firing techniques. The entire process and its results are very beautiful. They use a kind of clay made from a sort of shiny, porous rock which is ground to powder to make into a workable clay. This clay is mostly used for bulkier pieces with little scope for fine detail, because of its composition. The resulting pieces are more monumental in feel because of this. The studio also uses a second type of clay which they fetch from the nearby riverbed and process to create a more elastic product, allowing for more detail and experimentation of form. When we talked about these various clay production methods and I queried whether it was an actual ground stone that they use, Juan said to me good-naturedly: ‘Don’t argue about this, I know what I’m saying; I’m the king of clay around here!’. He obviously knows his worth.”
Using this clay made from ground rock Reynolds worked on two pieces. It was a great learning experience. While talking of his time there, one can hear a certain pride in what he is doing. “I am a ceramic artist like they are. These youngsters have much to learn about different ways of working. I’m going to bring them, among other books, a copy of the excellent catalogue of the contemporary ceramics collection at Colección Mercantil, so they can begin to see the extent of the possibilities of working with clay, that are within their reach.”
Sketches of some of the pieces created by Reynolds at El Cercado
It is useful here to draw a parallel: Daniel Reynolds is building up the confidence of these youngsters in El Cercado, in the same way as his older brother did with him at the start of his own career, when he held him by the shoulders and said: “You are an artist” as a prelude to helping Daniel to acquire his own studio in which to work.
Reynolds briefly made jewellery early on in his career. He then went on to design furniture for about 10 years. Using clay to create some details for this furniture, he realised how much affinity he felt for the material and was soon working almost exclusively in clay.
He has exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York (New Territories, 2014). His work forms part of the Cisneros Collection in New York and the Fundación Mercantil in Caracas, as well as private collections internationally. In the UK he was invited to take part with a new mobile sculpture, in the opening of the Design House at The New Art Centre, Roche Court, in Wiltshire. He has had exhibitions in Tokyo and Hong Kong (1994), in Barcelona (2004), in Puebla, Mexico (2016) and taken part in other group exhibitions in the United States, France, England, Japan and Australia, among others.
His hosts in El Cercado would say to him: “You who come from far off lands, tell us…” but Reynolds, with a large atlas he brought for them, would show them specifically where he had come from, that it wasn’t a mysterious distant land, and that any part of the world could also be within their reach. “I said to them – If a visitor from overseas should buy one of your signed pieces in Caracas, your name as well as that of El Cercado can travel to New York, Stockholm or Hong Kong – It was a way of helping them to value and believe in their talent.”
In the early hours of his last day there, Daniel was at the studio waiting to see the result of a firing of a large mobile sculpture. This piece now forms part of the exhibition in Fundación Serpentina, opened in November of this year, which will run until April 2024. “It is a large mobile sculpture (he holds out his arms) made with this clay which I did not know before coming here. There was a sense of anticipation mixed with trepidation, for the hours of work which it took to achieve. Fortunately, all was fine!“
Full House… of Artists at Bermúdez Studio
Since Daniel Reynolds’ visit to Margarita, Bermúdez Studio has welcomed various artists of renown for cultural exchanges. These have come about thanks to the efforts of people like Carmen Julieta Centeno of the Artesano Group Foundation, of Tahía Rivero and of the Serpentina Foundation.
The Chilean/Venezuelan artist Augusto Acosta was there in May 2023. In August the youngsters took part in a performance by the artist Diana López, accompanied by Emilia Azcárate, a Venezuelan artist living in Madrid. “Homage to the Wheel” was staged in the Francisco Narváez Museum of Contemporary Art in Margarita, with support from the University of Margarita and of Henrique Faria Fine Art – New York. Using paint on roller skates, a wheel barrow and bicycles, they painted or made imprints on a large canvas, directed by López.
In April and May 2023 Caracas-based ‘Macolla Creativa’ Collective organised a ceramics workshop with Bermudez in El Cercado. Taking part were Julio Loaiza, Daniel Guerra, Isabella Rengifo, Prada Colón and Virginia Hernandez. The experience then continued in Caracas in August and September when Juan Bermudez worked with ‘Casa País’ Organisation in the Hotel Tamanaco. The potter Luis Toto García provided the wheel on which Juan worked while in the capital.
Juan Bermúdez with Daniel Guerra, Juan´s sister and wife with some of their pieces, Photos courtesy of Juan Bermúdez
Adrian Pujol with Juan Bermúdez in El Cercado showing work made during his recent visit. Courtesy of Juan Bermúdez. Portrait of Pujol and his work developed at the studio. Photos by Inger Pedreáñez.
In October 2023 at Bermúdez Studio, the Mallorcan painter Adrián Pujol completed a series of work in ceramic; among them various plates of sculptural quality and a Globe of the Earth. With him was the artist Corina Briceño. Around the same time, the celebrated Venezuelan artist from the Yanomami tribe, Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe and the artist Luis Romero came to the studio and painted among other things, a series of plates which have joined the burgeoning ceramics collection at Bermúdez Studio. In November 2023 the London based Venezuelan artist Francisca Sosa also completed a residency at Bermúdez Studio. Her work centred on traditional ceramic and weaving practices in Margarita. There have also been fruitful visits from María Virginia Pineda, Titina Penzini and ceramists Cristian Fontana and Josselin Chalbaud, among others.
“This is a village where clay is transformed into art. We maintain the tradition of the indigenous Guaiquerí tribe of more than 1000 years; from generation to generation. I learned from my aunts at the age of 12. This new movement, with visits from artists who have come here from Spain, the UK, the US, Chile, Venezuela, Switzerland and Panama has been a huge success. Daniel Reynolds was the first to come. His visit was important. He looked as though he didn’t want to leave! It was good to see how the various artists adapted to our materials, to our rhythm of work, and it has allowed them to produce special work. We did wonderful things with Adrian Pujol. Beautiful work. We found solutions to ideas he had concerning different glaze techniques,etc. It was an unforgettable experience. It’s a first for El Cercado that there is this interchange of ideas and experiences here. My hope is, and I will do what I can, for this type of experience to spread to other ceramics workshops in El Cercado village.“ Says the 24 year old ceramist Juan Bermúdez, who is at present an active force in rescuing from disuse and disrepair, the School of Ceramics of El Cercado, where the aim is to teach young and old the art of ceramics, as well as helping to keep alive other ancestral crafts, such as fine basket weaving and the weaving of hammocks; central as these have been to this culture for centuries; thus helping to reverse their present decline.
Inger Pedreáñez is a journalist (Universidad Central de Venezuela – UCV), photographer and poet. She is a professor of journalism at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, also in Venezuela. She has worked in corporate journalism for the past 30 years. IG: @ingervpr.
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