Julia Isídrez: Zoophormes

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Julia Isídrez: Zoophormes

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Julia Isídrez<br><em>Vasija rosario</em>, 2023<br>Ceramic<br>47 1/4 x 19 3/4 x 18 7/8 inches / 120 x 50 x 48 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Tijara con dos ranos</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>36 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches / 91.4 x 44.5 x 44.5 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Alpaca</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>34 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 87.6 x 34.3 x 49.5 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Cantaro con relive con cara del oso hormiguero</em>, 1999<br>Ceramic<br>18 1/2 x 16 x 17 inches / 47 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Tuna</em>, 2023<br>Ceramic<br>18 1/2 x 22 x 22 inches / 47 x 55.9 x 55.9 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Oveja natural (Diseño de Juana Marta)</em>, 2022<br>Ceramic<br>12 x 16 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Fuente lago siete cabezas</em>, N.D.<br>Ceramic<br>8 1/2 x 12 3/8 x 14 5/8 inches / 21.6 x 31.5 x 37 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Pelota con dos tatus</em>, 2017<br>Ceramic<br>22 x 22 1/2 x 23 inches / 55.9 x 57.1 x 58.4 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Tejú yaguá</em>, N.D.<br>Ceramic<br>6 1/2 x 5 x 7 inches / 16.5 x 12.7 x 17.8 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Roca mundo de Julia</em>, 2019<br>Ceramic<br>26 x 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 66 x 49.5 x 49.5 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Lagarto Cañon</em>, 2019<br>Ceramic<br>12 3/8 x 12 3/4 x 21 5/8 inches / 31.5 x 32.3 x 55 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Alpaca</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>6 1/2 x 6 x 9 inches / 16.5 x 15.2 x 22.9 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Gallo</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>6 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches / 16 x 17 x 25 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Cienpies</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>31 1/8 x 17 3/8 x 35 3/8 inches / 79 x 44 x 90 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Gujano cienpies</em>, 2019<br>Ceramic<br>9 x 6 x 16 inches / 22.9 x 15.2 x 40.6 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Plato</em>, 2023<br>Ceramic<br>7 1/2 x 30 x 30 inches / 19.1 x 76.2 x 76.2 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Lagarto cañon II</em>, 2024<br>Ceramic<br>12 x 10 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 25.4 x 43.2 cm

Julia Isídrez<br><em>Dos cabeza con relieve</em>, 2017<br>Ceramic<br>4 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 8 inches / 11.4 x 8.9 x 20.3 cm

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April 15-May 31, 2025

Jessica Silverman is pleased to present “Julia Isídrez: Zoophormes,” the acclaimed Paraguayan ceramicist’s first solo exhibition on the West Coast, on view April 15 through May 31, 2025. Isídrez reimagines Guaraní ceramic traditions to create a personal bestiary of creatures that are at once mythic and earthly, intimate and monumental. Her work was recently featured in the 2024 Venice Biennale exhibition, “Foreigners Everywhere,” marking a significant moment of international recognition for her singular approach to ceramics.

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SELECTED WORKS

Julia Isídrez
Vasija rosario, 2023
Ceramic
47 1/4 x 19 3/4 x 18 7/8 inches / 120 x 50 x 48 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tijara con dos ranos, 2024
Ceramic
36 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches / 91.4 x 44.5 x 44.5 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Alpaca, 2024
Ceramic
34 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 87.6 x 34.3 x 49.5 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Vasija rosario, 2023
Ceramic
47 1/4 x 19 3/4 x 18 7/8 inches / 120 x 50 x 48 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tijara con dos ranos, 2024
Ceramic
36 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches / 91.4 x 44.5 x 44.5 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Alpaca, 2024
Ceramic
34 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 87.6 x 34.3 x 49.5 cm

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Rooted in the matrilineal legacy of Guaraní pottery and shaped by the rich ecological landscape of her hometown, Itá, Paraguay, Isídrez’s deeply tactile ceramic practice draws from both ancestral techniques and personal memory. The works on view merge playful animal forms with regional folklore, material transformation, and an enduring reverence for feminine craft lineage.

Julia Isídrez
Cantaro con relive con cara del oso hormiguero, 1999
Ceramic
18 1/2 x 16 x 17 inches / 47 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tuna, 2023
Ceramic
18 1/2 x 22 x 22 inches / 47 x 55.9 x 55.9 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Oveja natural (Diseño de Juana Marta), 2022
Ceramic
12 x 16 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Cantaro con relive con cara del oso hormiguero, 1999
Ceramic
18 1/2 x 16 x 17 inches / 47 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tuna, 2023
Ceramic
18 1/2 x 22 x 22 inches / 47 x 55.9 x 55.9 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Oveja natural (Diseño de Juana Marta), 2022
Ceramic
12 x 16 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 40.6 x 43.2 cm

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Roca Mundo de Julia (2019) is a robust, two-foot-tall shiny dark vessel that sprouts the heads of imaginative creatures. Isídrez’s process, which includes traditional colombino, or coil-building technique, and a distinctive fumigation method using mango leaves, imbues each piece with a deep, glossy, resin-like finish that has become a hallmark of her practice.

Julia Isídrez
Fuente lago siete cabezas, N.D.
Ceramic
8 1/2 x 12 3/8 x 14 5/8 inches / 21.6 x 31.5 x 37 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Pelota con dos tatus, 2017
Ceramic
22 x 22 1/2 x 23 inches / 55.9 x 57.1 x 58.4 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tejú yaguá, N.D.
Ceramic
6 1/2 x 5 x 7 inches / 16.5 x 12.7 x 17.8 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Roca mundo de Julia, 2019
Ceramic
26 x 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 66 x 49.5 x 49.5 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Pelota con dos tatus, 2017
Ceramic
22 x 22 1/2 x 23 inches / 55.9 x 57.1 x 58.4 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Tejú yaguá, N.D.
Ceramic
6 1/2 x 5 x 7 inches / 16.5 x 12.7 x 17.8 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Roca mundo de Julia, 2019
Ceramic
26 x 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches / 66 x 49.5 x 49.5 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Lagarto Cañon, 2019
Ceramic
12 3/8 x 12 3/4 x 21 5/8 inches / 31.5 x 32.3 x 55 cm

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In contrast, the reddish hues seen in many of her works, such as the oblong, figurative sculptures Alpaca and Cucaracha (both 2024), come from a natural engobe made from locally sourced red earth. After cleaning and mixing the soil with water, Isídrez applies the pigment directly to the clay surfaces by hand, eschewing paintbrushes for an intimate, tactile connection with her materials.

Julia Isídrez
Alpaca, 2024
Ceramic
6 1/2 x 6 x 9 inches / 16.5 x 15.2 x 22.9 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Gallo, 2024
Ceramic
6 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches / 16 x 17 x 25 cm

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As if emerging from beneath the earth’s surface, Cienpies (2024) reconfigures the centipede into Isídrez’s distinct visual language. Hand-built from dark clays collected at the edges of lakes near her home and atelier, one of the region’s tiniest beings is elevated into a larger-than-life presence, suggesting a philosophy rooted in the close observation of nature.

Julia Isídrez
Cienpies, 2024
Ceramic
31 1/8 x 17 3/8 x 35 3/8 inches / 79 x 44 x 90 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Gujano cienpies, 2019
Ceramic
9 x 6 x 16 inches / 22.9 x 15.2 x 40.6 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Plato, 2023
Ceramic
7 1/2 x 30 x 30 inches / 19.1 x 76.2 x 76.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Lagarto cañon II, 2024
Ceramic
12 x 10 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 25.4 x 43.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Gujano cienpies, 2019
Ceramic
9 x 6 x 16 inches / 22.9 x 15.2 x 40.6 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Plato, 2023
Ceramic
7 1/2 x 30 x 30 inches / 19.1 x 76.2 x 76.2 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Lagarto cañon II, 2024
Ceramic
12 x 10 x 17 inches / 30.5 x 25.4 x 43.2 cm

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In “Zoophormes,” clay remembers, reinvents, and resists. The exhibition is an ode to matriarchal inheritance, environmental knowledge, and the transformative power of form.

Julia Isídrez
Tejú yaguá, N.D.
Ceramic
6 1/2 x 5 x 7 inches / 16.5 x 12.7 x 17.8 cm

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Julia Isídrez
Dos cabeza con relieve, 2017
Ceramic
4 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 8 inches / 11.4 x 8.9 x 20.3 cm

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ARTIST BIO

Julia Isídrez (b. 1967, Itá, Paraguay) was featured in the 60th Venice Biennale: “Foreigners Everywhere.” She had a recent solo exhibition at Centro Cultural del Lago, Areguá, Paraguay. She has been included in major group exhibitions at Museo del Barro, Asunción, Paraguay; Santiago Triennial, Chile; dOCUMENTA 13; Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; and the 35th International Exhibition of Traditional Crafts, Santiago, Chile, among others. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, CO; the Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France; and the Museo del Barro, Asunción, Paraguay. Isídrez lives and works in Itá, Paraguay. She is represented by Gomide&Co, São Paulo.