Seven McKnight Artists

July 8 – August 20

Main Gallery and Galusha Gallery

Summer Open House: July 15, 1 – 4 pm

In 2023, NCC’s annual McKnight Artist exhibition will provide the unique opportunity to view works by the 2022 recipients of the McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, Tony Kukich (St. Paul, MN) and Ginny Sims (Minneapolis, MN), as well as the 2021 recipients of the McKnight Artist Residency for Ceramic Artists: Claudia Alvarez (New York, NY), Eliza Au (Lake Dallas, TX), Edith Garcia (2020 Recipient, Half Moon Bay, CA), Lynne Hobaica (Bakersville, NC), and Janina Myronova (Wrocław, Poland). This exhibition, supported by the McKnight Foundation, showcases the success of each artist’s fellowship or residency.

The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is deeply committed to advancing climate solutions in the Midwest; building an equitable and inclusive Minnesota; and supporting the arts and culture in Minnesota, neuroscience, and international crop research.

Claudia Alvarez

Claudia Alvarez (New York, NY) tackles issues relating to violence, empowerment, endurance, and what each reveal about human nature through her drawings, paintings, and ceramic sculptures. Greatly impacted by terminally ill youth and elderly patients met during past work experience, her painted and sculpted figures continue to reflect both their strength and vulnerability through the depiction of fragmented narratives as reflection of human conduct, ethics, belief systems, culture, race, assimilation, and displacement.

Alvarez received her BA from University of California, Davis in 1999 and her MFA from California College of Arts (San Francisco) in 2003. Throughout her career as a maker, she has participated in residencies at locations including SASAMA International Ceramic Art Festival (Shizuoka, Japan), Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (Omaha, NE), SOMA (Mexico City, Mexico), and FUTUR (Rapperswil, Switzerland). She has received multiple awards including those from institutions such as Art Matters Foundation (New York, NY) and Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund (New York, NY). Currently, Alvarez is serving as an adjunct instructor at New York University (NYC), visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, (Brooklyn, NY), and faculty at Greenwich House Pottery (NYC).