Toby Buonagurio

Buonagurio studied at the City College of New York and graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1971, she received a Master's degree in Arts and Education from the same institution. Her works have won numerous awards and accolades, one from the New York State Arts Council and five Bronx Recognition Awards from the Bronx Arts Council. Buonagurio has hosted 25 solo exhibitions at international museums, art centers and galleries. Her works have been included in more than 200 collective exhibitions worldwide and have been featured on the cover of the Ceramic Monthly. Inspired by popular culture for nearly four decades, she has created colorful and gorgeous ceramic sculptures.

Artist Biography

Creative Concept:

For fifty years, Buonagurio has made humorous, often ironic, ceramic sculptures. Anything that walks, crawls, swims or flies has become the subject of her work. Everything is fired multiple times to create special colored glazes and she applies silver and gold luster effects on all her work. Additionally, she likes to apply various painted finishes complimenting complex fired surfaces. 
Brilliant, gold finishes, using fired gold metallic lusters and sparkling gold glitter have been an important component of Buonagurio’s work regardless of the subject. She often uses it in seemingly contradictory components of a piece. For example, an oversized gold bracelet chain is posed next to a small female figure as if to overpower her. When She uses gold, it is not only eye catching, but it is used to create surprising and new “narratives “about each subject. She believes that gold always makes the ordinary…very extraordinary.

For more information about the artists and their work please contact the curator Caroline Cheng:macau2019@potteryworkshop.com.cn