Jorge Wilmot
Glazed stoneware
Tonala, Jalisco
Jorge Wilmot (1928-2012) was a ceramicist credited with bringing Chinese high fire techniques to his home country of Mexico in the 1960s. He established a studio and school in Tonala, where Isaiah spent some time working, and he founded the National Ceramic Museum of Mexico. He worked closely with American Ken Edwards (see Guatemala below) to develop this style that is closely associated with Tonala. Generations of ceramicists have been influenced by his innovation and continue to make ceramics influenced by him today. The San Germán Pottery pieces that PMG currently buys in Mexico and installs in the Gardens are a good example of this continuing tradition.
Thousands of Wilmot’s shiny square tiles featuring images from nature and simple patterns can be found throughout PMG. Zagar purchased the tiles in 1995 with money from a grant. At that time Wilmot decided he was ready to stop making ceramics and instead wanted to bake bread for the remainder of his life. Wilmot gave Zagar all the remaining tiles in his studio: a quantity Zagar estimates was about ten times more than he had paid for.
Wilmot has many works throughout PMG in addition to the small square tiles, including butterfly tiles, fish plates, black eagle tiles, blue diamonds, and many others.
He also created the lizard mask that can be found in PMG’s basement. He created a series of these masks for a commission from the City Hall of Tonala. These are traditional masks for dancers during the carnival celebration. They are supposed to represent the natives of Mexico chasing away the Spanish.
Example:
Plate With Two Fish
Glazed Ceramic
18.50h x 18.50w in
46.99h x 46.99w cm
Location: Outside on the East Wall of the Courtyard
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