Concurrent Artists-in-Residence Exhibitions
Clay Art Center
Port Chester, New York
June 24–August 3, 2026
Clay Art Center presents exhibitions from our 2025-2026 residency cohort featuring Rittenberg Artist-in-Residence Alvaro Villa, Second-Year Artist-in-Residence Carley Holzem, Second-Year Artist-in-Residence Christine Raposas, and Westchester Community Foundation Fellow Stephanie Perez.
La House of Objects en el Orbital
Alvaro Villa
ALVARO as Ceramic Brujo welcomes viewers into La House of Objects en el Orbital to navigate a space where a kiln and a witch’s cauldron become one and a series of devotional sacred objects are meditative and ritualistic. La House of Objects en el Orbital puts forth the art and magic of the object, tool, and planning process of Alvaro’s ceramic artworks. In this exhibition Alvaro celebrates the objects, tools, sketches, and anything that helps his art making progress in a series of brick-red ceramics and mixed media sculptural works. The tools that orbit the ceramic studio are made again with a magical blend of ceramic craft and subversive reimagining.
Alvaro is a first-generation Mexican-American from Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas. He earned a BFA in ceramics, sculpture, and painting from the University of North Texas and recently earned an MFA in ceramic art at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Alvaro lives with his magical companion, Lluna, a cat whose presence adds a touch of enchantment to his creative life.
Living A Dream, Riding A Wave
Carley Holzem, Christine Raposas, and Stephanie Perez
Together, our work is a testament to the power of clay to evoke life in infinite shapes. At the core of this collection is the same malleable yet basic element, but from which three vastly different journeys have sprung: a mystical, fanciful corner of queer joy; a dystopian space between the familiar and unknown; and a surrealist imagining of a rainbow under the sea. Our manifestations of texture, color, and form mark the edges of the distinct worlds we’ve forged, which share no more than the most important similarity: a common life force.
Second Year Artist-in-Residence Carley Holzem grew up in a small rural town in central Wisconsin called Mosinee. In high school, she began to love all types of art and grew a passion for pottery. She then went on to get her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin–Stout with a BFA in ceramics. After graduating she went to Minneapolis for the year-long Fogelberg residency at Northern Clay Center, followed by two years at Clay Art Center.
Second Year Artist-in-Residence Christine Raposas grew up in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and developed a deep love for ceramics in college, graduating from Alfred University with a BFA. She also studied painting, drawing, and art history in study abroad programs in Paris and Florence. Christine completed a post-baccalaureate program at Kansas State University, followed by two years at Clay Art Center.
Westchester Community Foundation Fellow Stephanie Perez is an emerging ceramic artist and instructor who grew up in the Bronx and Westchester, with a BS in psychology and sociology from Fordham University. Stephanie teaches community arts programs at Clay Art Center, in addition to practicing as a ceramic artist.
