These whimsical folk-art pieces are fine examples of a time-honored traditional handicraft called muñecas. The Aguilar / Alcantara family are world renowned clay figurine folk artists from the village of Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. These artists capture the joyful celebration of everyday life and cultural traditions of pueblo life in Mexico.
All of the family members are in important collections of Mexican Folk art all over the world, including many museum and university collections. The family includes matriarch Dona Isaura Alcantara Diaz (deceased); her daughters Guillermina, Josefina, Irene, Concepcion; son Jesus, and grandsons including Demetrio Garcia Aguilar and Jose Juan Garcia Aguilar. Other family members including Josefina’s husband Jose assist and or make their own clay art as well.
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| Jose Juan Garcia Aguilar in his studio |
Josefina’s mother was Dona Isaura Alcantara Diaz who died in 1969 at the age of 44. She was the innovator of an important and delightful genre of ceramics. Departing from the utilitarian objects such as bowls, vessels and pots produced by her contemporaries in her village of Ocotlán de Morelos, she introduced decorative human figures. These imaginatively captured the daily life, passionate expressiveness and cultural richness of pueblo life. Her highly detailed, colorfully painted human figures embodied their traditional lives’ vitality, depth of emotion and pulse.
Isaura Alcantara was recognized as a major artistic figure by significant collectors of Mexican folk art such as Nelson Rockefeller and Alexander Girard. Isaura had a profound influence on the creative lives of four of her Daughters: Guillermina, Josefina, Irene and Concepcion ( from eldest to youngest) and her son Jesus. While all of her children are well known, her second daughter Josefina in considered a master and is one of the most collectable folk artists in Mexico. Josefina may be foremost among Dona Isaura's daughters, due perhaps to picking up the skill at such an early age, and working under Dona Isaura for 7 years, before her mother's early passing.
Josefina Aguilar Alcantara, a serious and dedicated artist, is deeply involved in her outstanding work as a ceramist in her mother’s tradition. The second daughter of Isaura, Josefina creates "muñecas" human figures in a vast array of activities, venues and costumes.
Josefina's skill began to be noticed when she was quite young, and by the time she was in her early twenties, articles about her work began to appear in European and North American journals. In 1985, she and her husband José traveled to the US. Since then, interest in her work has continued to grow, as has her stature as a major artist in ceramics. Josefina creates figures which are very spontaneous, and with a touch of humor. Josefina regards the faces and especially the noses of her figures as her trademark and emphasizes her practice of making different faces on each one.
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| Sirena by Guillermina Aguilar |
hi, great article.
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