Maria Guevara

Dates: Sept. 4th - Oct. 23rd

Maritime Landmarks in Clay
By Maria Guevara

Living and working in Atlantic Canada, I have long been fascinated by how regional architecture embodies a tangible, living connection to the past. Built heritage does not simply serve as a set of navigational landmarks; it anchors the identity, beauty, and shared memory of our communities.

Exhibited here at the Saint John Arts Centre, this body of work pays dedicated tribute to the iconic urban architecture of Saint John—from its distinct historic streetscapes to its surrounding rural landscapes—alongside celebrated landmarks across Fredericton, Halifax, and Charlottetown. Moving beyond flat decorative designs, these wheel-thrown and hand-built vases feature sculpted, three-dimensional projections that reshape the ceramic body into dynamic architectural canvases.

Using vibrant, colorful engobes alongside the ancient techniques of Sgraffito and Mishima—carving and incising intricate lines directly into the unfired clay—I capture the tactile details, textures, and distinct atmosphere of these regional spaces. By fusing ceramic art, local geography, and historical study, this collection celebrates the built environment of the Maritimes and invites viewers to reconnect with the familiar places we inhabit.
This project was made possible through the support of an Artsnb Creation Grant

Maria Guevara is a New Brunswick-based ceramic artist whose practice explores the intersection of architectural heritage and material memory. Grounded in an academic background in archaeology and conservation in Mexico alongside formal training from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), Guevara treats the ceramic vessel as an archival medium—a vessel for recording the identity and history of place.

Her studio practice specializes in high-tactility clay forms that combine wheel-throwing, hand-building, and low-relief sculpting. Moving beyond traditional surface design, Guevara alters the ceramic body to create expressive architectural landscapes inspired by the historic cityscapes and rural topographies of Atlantic Canada. Central to her work is a rigorous approach to surface texture and vibrant color, executed through the refined application of ancient decorative techniques, including sgraffito, mishima, and custom engobe formulations.

Guevara’s work has been exhibited regionally, and her recent project development has been supported by a Creation Grant from artsnb. She maintains her studio practice in New Maryland, New Brunswick.