Gorky Gonzales was born in 1939 in Morelia in the state of Michoacan. He studied and worked under his father who was a sculpture who worked in bronze and lost wax.
At the age of 23, Gorky moved to San Miguel de Allende where he worked and built an artistic foundry at the Instituto Allende. Later he went on to live in Guanajuato where he founded a small workshop of terra cotta manufacturing.
His main interest was recreating traditional majolica designs of the Spanish colonial period in Mexico (1521-1810).
Thanks to him, he helped bring back this lost art which represents one of the main crafts of this region.
On my day trip to Guanajuato with my group, one stop we make is a visit to Gorky's ceramic showroom.
Gorky met a Japanese woman who was studying in Guanajuato who encouraged him to study ceramics in her country. He was granted a two year scholarship to study in Japan. Here, he learned various ceramic techniques and also met his wife, Toshiko. Today his son, also named Gorky, has a contemporary line of ceramics that is also on display in the showroom.
Benita is contemplating on what else she will buy. Believe me, no one left empty handed.
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