Amber Aguirre (born 1958) is an American ceramic sculptor. She was born to

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivors. Aguirre received a BFA in ceramics from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1981, an MA in art education from

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

in 1990, and a master of library and information science degree from San José State University in 1996. She currently lives and works in

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii, a community located o ...

. She is best known for creating human and anthropomorphic figures with a surface created by a technique of her own invention, which she calls "naked fauxku". By employing a high fire, oxygenated atmosphere without reduction, a surface similar to naked raku is produced. ''Disabled'', in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art, portrays a seated nude female figure with an anvil in place of her left foot. It was created shortly after the artist underwent surgery on her ankle. This porcelain sculpture demonstrates the surface typical of Aguirre's work as well as her sculpture's whimsy. The Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Center (Tel Aviv, Israel), the

Hawaii State Art Museum The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. History While they were both in the cabinet, under King ...

, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the International Ceramics Studio (Kecscemet, Hungary), and the Kellogg Art Gallery (Cal Poly University, Pomona, California) are among the public collections holding works by Amber Aguirre.The artist's website

References

* Aguirre, Amber, "Naked Fauxku" in Lazo, Eduardo (ed.), ''Naked Raku and Related Bare Clay Techniques'', American Ceramic Society, 2012, pp. 85–96 * Vickery-Davidson, Devany, ''Amber Aguirre'', John Natsoulas Press, Davis California, 2012

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguirre, Amber 1958 births Living people 21st-century American women artists 21st-century ceramists Modern sculptors Sculptors from Hawaii Ceramists from Hawaii University of Southern California alumni San Jose State University alumni American women ceramists American women sculptors