Ileana Alarcon's Projects

BFA Student

Major: Ceramics

Graduation Year: 2018

Artist Statement:

Similar to Roald Dahl’s famous Chocolate Factory, which envisions a world in which everything is chocolate, I envision a world that is made out of clay. I enjoy creating life-size fantasy environments and letting my audience explore them with a childlike sense of wonder. Surrealism is a large part of Latin American art. Exploration into dreams, emotions, and heritage are often turned into fantasy landscapes. Influenced by this tradition in my own art, objects found in nature are transformed into playful and interactive atmospheres that invite viewers in while at the same time giving a sense of being from another world. These installations reflect my experience of growing up as a Latina in the U.S. and a Gringa in Colombia and how I felt like an outsider. My intent is to build environments which evoke a sense of otherness in the viewer. 

Biography:

Ileana Alarcon is a ceramic artist working primarily in large scale sculpture. She studied ceramics at Maine College of Art, and received a BFA in 2018. Alarcon enjoys creating surreal environments into which the viewer is invited to partake in the experience of being in another world. She uses ceramic glaze chemistry to push the boundaries of texture on her objects and color theory to create an atmosphere that feels alive. Her recent work is focused on the feeling of belonging and not belonging at the same time and creating a world that evokes that feeling in the viewer.