Santa Clara University

Pancho Jiménez

Adjunct Lecturer

Contact: Santa Clara University Department of Art and Art History 500 El Camino Real Santa Clara, CA 95053 Phone: (408) 551-7169 Email: fajimenez@scu.edu

Educational Background

M.F.A., San Francisco State University
B.A., Santa Clara University

Teaching

ARTS 63: Ceramic Sculpture
ARTS 163: Advanced Ceramic Sculpture
ARTS 196: Senior Seminar
3D Design Fundamentals

Research

I am intrigued by the mystery of meaning that I find in ancient art, much of it in ruins, found in Mexico and other locations around the world.  In my art I attempt to capture that mystery, that "eternal presence" of ancient art forms, which elicit particular emotions in me that may be universal and timeless.  My intention is to create art forms that bring the eternal presence of the past to the present, to inspire reflection on contemporary time and place.

Busts

Inspired by the pre-Columbian Olmec heads this series of work consists of a series of busts.  Through these busts I explore the possibilities of portraiture.  While portraiture traditionally documents the individual characteristics of a sitter, in this work I am exploring collective, or universal, identity.  Depicted without features, these heads and bodies suggest diverse psychological states in a deeply compelling way.  To achieve this I employ a wide range of surface textures and colors, these works also explore the technical possibilities of the material of clay.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions

What Are You Thinking About?, Maturango Museum, Ridge Crest, CA

Outta My Head, Fire House Gallery, Grants Pass, OR

Ceramic Sculpture, Mohr Gallery, Community School of Music and Arts, Mountain View, CA

Show of Heads, University of California Merced, Merced, CA

Conversations in Clay, a 2 person exhibition, Cuesta College Art Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cerámica de la Tierra, American Museum of Ceramic Arts, Ponoma, CA