Julia Isídrez b. 1967

Isídrez’s imaginative spirit equally informs her contributions to contemporary art and to the Guaraní ceramic tradition. The artist introduces a new sculptural vocabulary to an ancient process, drawn from the material, environmental, and formal specifics of her locale and Guaraní heritage. Including works executed in homage to the artist’s mother and grandmother, the sculptures on view demonstrate Isídrez’s dexterity in modeling both organic and austere shapes, underscoring their experimental innovation. In these works, baroque curves, stern spikes, and commanding reliefs kindle a bestiary of organic forms driven by the elemental nature of clay.

The artist creates and hand fires her works at her studio in Itá, Paraguay. Making evocative works that offer new contributions to contemporary sculpture, Isídrez’s technique bears witness to the technical adaptations of those that came before her, withstanding the influences of modernity and globalization. Deeply informed by the work of her maternal ancestry, Isídrez continues to work and teach ceramics in Itá, indicative of the significant influence she and her mother have imparted on artists across the region.

Since the early 1990s, Julia Isídrez has participated in numerous biennials and institutional exhibitions at premiere venues across Latin America, Asia, and Europe, including the 60th Venice Biennale and Documenta 13. Her solo exhibition Julia Isídrez: Mud is everything opened at Nottingham Contemporary in October 2026. Her work is held in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, and the Museo del Barro, Asunción, Paraguay. She lives and works in Itá, Paraguay.