San Joaquin Delta College
5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton 95207

For Immediate Release
02/19/2016

LH Horton Jr. Gallery Presents
FACULTY ART SHOW
Gary Carlos - Sculpture
Shenny Cruces - Ceramics
February 25 - March 18

(Stockton, CA) Delta Center for the Arts L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery presents the recent work of two faculty members, Gary Carlos, sculpture professor, and Shenny Cruces, Delta College’s new ceramics professor. The exhibition will be held February 25 - March 18, with an opening reception February 25, 5:00-7:00 p.m. The exhibition and reception are FREE and open to the public.

Presenting the work of our visual arts professors, who are professional artists and art historians, provides students, prospective students and community members, insight into the talent and resources within the Visual Arts Department. In addition, the exhibition provides a look at the artistic style and skill of Delta's instructors as artists.

Gary Carlos grew up in the Central Valley. He moved to the Bay Area in 1992 and received a B.A. from San Francisco State in 1995, and a Masters of Fine Arts from San Diego State in 2004. Intersecting interests in painting, ceramics and public art led him to work in ceramic tile and mixed media. His wall pieces have dealt with issues related to American culture, land use practices and the manufactured relationship between order and nature. His work has been included in many national exhibitions and publications including “Confrontational Ceramics,” by Judith Schwartz and “Suburban Escape: The Art of California Sprawl,” published by the San Jose Museum of Art. Gary moved from the Bay Area back to Stockton in 2007 and is a professor of sculpture at San Joaquin Delta College.

Gary Carlos – Artist Statement:
Ever since the first human settlements, people have left marks on the landscape - be they permanent or fleeting. These patterns communicate something about each unique era. The development of the suburb and suburban sprawl has marked a major shift in urban organization and is something uniquely American. Planned communities have offered democratized access to home ownership and a level of comfort never before achieved on such a mass scale. My work examines how modern attitudes towards nature and the world are reflected in these landscapes we shape and manufacture.

Shenny Cruces attended Cal State San Bernardino and Sonoma State University, completing a B.A. in English. She taught High School in Santa Rosa, California for a few years until relocating to Illinois. Ms. Cruces received a B.A. in Ceramics from Illinois State University in 2008, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics from San Francisco State University in 2011. Her work has appeared in juried shows throughout California and the United States and includes Ink and Clay 35, Horton Art Gallery’s Visions In Clay 2011 and 2012, California Clay Competition, 2013 NCECA Biennial, and the Community Heirloom Project at the Palo Alto Art Center.

Shenny Cruces' work has received numerous awards including: a Murphy Cadogan Fellowship, and a Kiln God Award Residency at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine. Cruces has taught ceramics at NIAD in Richmond, California, and as a Lecturer in Ceramics at Sonoma State University and San Francisco State University. She began teaching at San Joaquin Delta College Spring 2015 as a substitute for Gary Carlos’ sculpture classes while he was on sabbatical. Ms. Cruces was hired as the new Associate Professor of Art and Ceramics in Fall 2015 upon the retirement of Professor Joe Mariscal.

Shenny Cruces–Artist Statement:
The act of collecting is an intrinsic part of my process and my work. I actively seek out objects that were once loved and displayed within the home but now reside within junk stores and resale shops. These objects are now empty vessels devoid of the personal and familial memories they once held. I use recognizable objects associated with collecting and china cabinets to engage with the viewer’s sense of home and memory. I collect, cast, recreate and alter existing porcelain objects into sculptural forms to expose the underlying issues of class, sexual identity, memory and the meaning of objects in our lives.

Images Available Upon Request
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