The ceramic works of Samuel Sarmiento are, first of all, objects. Depicting myths and literary stories from across the Caribbean and South America, they do so as sculpted surfaces that create their own boundaries. They are self-contained worlds still connected to everything around them. History is palpable, bodies emerge from bodies emerging from bodies – or do they sink back into time, towards an origin we shall never know? There are forests, seas, cities, animals, trees, goddesses, humans, and meaningful scenes. Humans tell each other about the universe, how it came to be; they pass on secrets of death and procreation together with truths of conflict and suffering, and a hope of redemption. As Sarmiento’s works capture a vibrant oral tradition, they also encapsulate the act of storytelling itself.
Samuel Sarmiento (Venezuela, 1987) is a self-taught artist. He has participated in various exhibitions, individually and collectively, in Venezuela, Colombia, Aruba, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, and China,

Jake is a potter living in the mountains outside of Helena, Montana with his family. He was born and raised in Helena, and much of the ideas behind his work are influenced by the landscapes of Montana and from growing up in a community that has long supported artist-potters. After pursuing opportunities around the country for the last decade, he moved back to Helena in 2023 to settle down and build a sustainable studio practice.

Jake’s formative education in ceramics came through working at craft schools, community studios, and for other artists, and he received his MFA in Ceramic Art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He has completed artist residencies at Red Lodge Clay Center, Pottery Northwest, and Studio 740, and is excited to begin a long-term residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in 2025.