GEORGE RODRIGUEZ | CLAP CLAP CLAP DOG SHOW!

George Rodriguez creates highly ornamented, figurative ceramic sculptures, often underlined by a connection to the sociopolitical issues the artist explores. Themes of culture and identity recur throughout his sculptures, celebrating the unique attributes of diverse cultures and the similarities that unite them. Rodriguez eloquently communicates the emotions each form embodies; his figures span a wide range of forms and personalities, with echoes of African, Italian, and South American ceramic traditions.

Rodriguez holds a BFA from the University of Texas, El Paso, TX; and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. His work has shown at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA; Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA; Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Salem, OR; and the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury, MD. His sculptures are part of the collections of the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL; the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen College of Computer Science and Engineering, Seattle, WA; the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Salem, OR;. Rodriguez currently teaches at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, PA.

Most recently, Rodriguez's sculptures Mexican American Gothic and Seven Indulgences were added to the collections at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden respectively. His large-scale public art installation Let the Music Take You recently opened on Concourse A of the Kansas City International Airport.

My latest body of work is a collection of ritual vessels. Vessels that contain history and future. Vessels that capture human emotion. Vessels that create cultural connection. Vessels for an unspecified ritual. These vessels take the shape of animals, figures, vases and relics. When I think about clay, I think about the ritual of cutting my block, rolling slabs, gathering molds, and collecting my fork. I think about the different rituals I value and create for myself. I want to revert back to simplicity and let go of some material control. Go back to the transformation of glaze on clay. Go to a place of rediscovery. As I observe my human vessel and the rituals I rely on, I think about the impressions clay makes on my body. I think about the stress, the joy, the cracked skin and the sensitivity of my fingertips. I invite the viewer to wonder about the rituals that create or transform your own human vessel, what you hold, and how that shifts with time.

2025 Interview November

2025 Exhibition Catalog CLAP CLAP Clap Clap Clap clap clap clap clap DOG SHOW!

2025 Feature Art Zone CLAP CLAP Clap Clap Clap clap clap clap clap DOG SHOW!

2023 Virtual Exhibition TourRitual Vessels

2023 Exhibition Catalog Ritual Vessels

2023 Art as a Voice Series San Juan Islands Museum of Art

2023 El Zodíaco Familiar at San Juan Islands MoA, Friday Harbor, WA

2021 El Zodíaco Familiar at Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA

2020 Craft in America Storytellers Episode

2020 Exhibition Catalog Urban Guardians

2020 Interview June

2018 Interview, in Spanish, Corazón Arte Cultura

2018 Interview and Film Feature Crosscut

2017 Interview King 5 Feature

2017 Exhibition Catalog Sanctuary

2016 Exhibition Catalog Beneath The Surface

2014 Exhibition Catalog Here After

2012 Exhibition Catalog In Costume

2011 Exhibition Catalog George