Hadrian Mendoza

ceramic artist

Hadrian Mendoza, a stoneware Potter, works with a fearless and audacious search for unusual and indigenous forms, including expressionistic and abstract shapes. Mendoza was a graduate at Mary Washington College in Virginia and a former student at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC, where he was awarded the prestigious Anne and Arnold Abramson award for Excellence in Ceramics in 1996-1997.  He also organized the 1st Southeast Asian Ceramics Festival under the 2007-2009 Toyota Foundation Japan Grant. He curated the 2nd Southeast Asian Ceramics Conference and Exhibition in Fuping Pottery Art Village’s FLICAM International Ceramics Museum in China. 

In 1997 he searched for his roots and moved back to the Philippines, where he slowly metamorphosed into an individualistic and nationalistic artist with a keen and hungry eye for Southeast Asia’s indigenous forms. He has made deliberate attempts at achieving heavy cultural undertones for his works. In 2009, Hadrian moved to Virginia, USA with his family and is currently the art director at St. Thomas More Cathedral School. A humble craftsman, Mendoza serves at the feet of his own cultural dilemmas as an artist.

His works are permanent collections in museums in Cambodia,  China, Korea, Japan, and 3 renowned museums in the Philippines, which are The Metropolitan Museum Manila, The Ayala Museum, and BenCab Museum.

Isolation inspires local sculptor to create his artistic interpretations of COVID-19

May 08, 2020  /  Hadrian Mendoza

by Jay Korff

Thursday, May 7th 2020

ARLINGTON, Va. (ABC7) — Hadrian Mendoza’s front deck in Arlington has been an oasis for this potter, sculptor and educator.

“You’re stuck. This is great therapy. My hands are always moving," says the 46-year-old Filipino-born artist.

His small outdoor spot has served for weeks as a stay-at-home safe space from a health crisis gnawing at the nation.

Mendoza says, “How can I not go crazy when you can’t leave your home? I have this.”

Mendoza’s isolation inspired him to create a series of eight evocative pieces. They are his artistic interpretations of the mask and the COVID-19 virus: the defining symbols of the pandemic.

“I saw a virus in a microscope and I thought it was pretty despite the fact that it’s dangerous,” says Mendoza.

And it's the powerful juxtaposition of danger and beauty that Mendoza is trying to capture.

“We are kind of like journalists. We reflect what’s going on today through our own eyes," adds Mendoza.

Despite restless weeks of worry, Mendoza’s focus here is on history and hope. The masked figure in his series is based on a mythological deity from The Philippines called Bulol: guardian of rice fields. Bulol's presence is meant to bring a plentiful harvest. In this case, a cure for COVID-19.

“Of course, every person does have a mask and you can’t tell who anyone is," says Mendoza.

Mendoza plans to fire and complete his pieces in the fall when this viral storm has hopefully cleared.

Mendoza adds, "I’m going to aim for a reddish-blue kind of like what the real virus looks like."

Half of his pieces in this series have already been spoken for even though they aren’t done.

“We’re all waiting and so are they," says Mendoza.

Mendoza, a graduate of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, is also the Art Director at St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington.

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