Juan Arzac

Contemporary ceramic sculptor and painter exploring the balance between organic imperfection and mechanical precision.

I create ceramic sculptures and paintings that explore the fragile bonds that connect us as individuals and communities. My work reflects on the tension between resilience and vulnerability, destruction and renewal. Each piece is both personal and universal—rooted in my own search for connection while speaking to the shared need for empathy and understanding.

Technology and human experience often intersect in my process. I contrast rough, organic textures with smooth, mechanical lines to examine the friction between our imperfect humanity and the precision of the engineered world. This dialogue between the organic and the constructed reminds me that even within systems of control, the human capacity for error, adaptation, and compassion endures.

Japanese aesthetics such as Wabi-sabi, Shibui, and Geido deeply influence my work. I embrace cracks, uneven glazes, and layered surfaces as evidence of time, chance, and impermanence—values also present in modernist architecture and abstraction. Artists like Antoni Tàpies, Mark Rothko, and Paul Klee, as well as architects like Tadao Ando and Luis Barragán, have shaped m...

Currently works at Clay Work Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan, under the advisory of Yiu Keung Lee, the studio’s founder.

Previously studied ceramics with Yiu Keung Lee and Kay Yourist in Ann Arbor, and with Claudio Jerónimo in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Studied printmaking with Daniel Flores and ceramic processes with Maestro Claudio Jerónimo in Oaxaca, developing a deeper understanding of material and form.

Attended the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center in Michigan, where explored encaustic painting techniques.

Earlier, studied watercolor with Carlos Nakatani and drawing with Gilberto Aceves Navarro in Mexico City (~1998–2003).

Earned a degree in Communication Sciences, specializing in Cinematography, from Universidad Anáhuac, Mexico City.

From 1972 to 1988, studied drawing and painting in various studios in Mexico City and Guadalajara, including work with Ana María Ramos Islas (pastel and oil painting) and Mario Oguri (bonsai) in Cuernavaca, Morelos.

Solo Exhibitions

~2000 – Exhibition at the Embassy of Japan, Mexico City, Mexico.



Group Exhibitions

2024 – Gallerium International Art Catalog (Biafarin, online and print exhibition).
~2008 – Group Exhibition, Washington Street Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
1999 – “3x + 5y”, Lascaux Gallery, Poliforum Siqueiros, Mexico City — organized with support from Galería Quetzalli and artist Hiiro Yoshida.
~1998 – Publication of Oaxacan Artists, printed catalog published by Galería Quetzalli, Oaxaca, Mexico.