Imagined Vessels: Ceramics by Paz G, Liz Hernández, Cathy Lu, Maria Porges, and Maryam Yousif

In Imagined Vessels, artists engage with ceramics and clay to investigate memory, history, and cultural hybridity.

These five artists meld mythology with pop culture, ancestral roots with lived experiences, and timeless technique with inventive shapes. Paz G combines a spiritual and studio practice to create sculptures infused with song and protest. Deeply influenced by Mexican craft techniques, Liz Hernández’s clay slip paintings of plates and vessels explore the rich language of materials. 

Cathy Lu’s provocative ceramic installations disrupt common conceptions of what it means to be Asian American. For her MashUps, Maria Porges applies her knowledge of the history of ceramics by creating forms that combine attributes from across cultures and time. Maryam Yousif’s sculptures use imagery from her Persian heritage to create colorful figures informed by mythology and fashion.

Using one of humanity’s oldest crafts to consider topics such as protest, identity, folklore, memory, or ancient practices, these artists redefine the vessel to remind us of the interconnectedness of human experience. 

Imagined Vessels is presented by USF’s MA in Museum Studies Curatorial Practicum class led by Professor Paula Birnbaum. Content and Research: Bridget Danner (‘24), Emali Brophy (‘25), Kelci R.L. Bengier (‘25), Kristin De Vivo (‘25); Exhibit Design: Emerson Narciso (‘25), Hannah Perez (‘25), Kris Cavin (‘25), Matthew Howley (‘25), Patricia Diaz (‘25); Visitor Experience: Anyssa Govea (‘25), Clementina Canava (‘25), Dylan Romagnola (‘24), Nicholas Guzman (‘25).