Fernanda Cortes

Exhibition: Refigured – County Hall London 2026 Fernanda Cortes – Casting & Ceramics Technician at the University of Leeds – has been selected to exhibit in Refigured @countyhallpottery (12 May to 21 June). Part of @londoncraftweek Refigured: Embodiment in Contemporary Ceramics brings together four artists working with the human form in clay: @fer.corte @clairecurneen @jessicaharrisonstudio @john_rainey_ The exhibition looks at how the body has been shaped, represented and understood over time, and how these traditions can be re-read today. Familiar forms are questioned rather than preserved, revealing tension, fragility and new meaning beneath decorative surfaces. Working across earthenware, stoneware and porcelain, the exhibition explores themes of identity, gender, power and collective memory. The ceramic body emerges as both intimate and unstable, shaped by history yet open to change. Fernanda will present new sculptural works inspired by mythology, using hybrid human–animal figures to reflect on transformation, fragility and identity. Fernanda will be giving an artist talk on 14 May to invited guests. A curator talk and closing party will take place on 21 June. Find out more about the exhibition @countyhallpottery and @londoncraftweek *About Fernanda Cortes* @fer.corte is a Mexican artist based in the UK, where she has developed her creative practice over the past nine years. She joined the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies @universityofleeds as a Casting and Ceramics Technician in 2024. Her work combines sculpture and storytelling, using anthropomorphic forms to examine vulnerability, resilience and dehumanisation. Short stories accompany her sculptures, adding narrative depth to each piece. Images: Fernanda Cortes Pulso, 2026 Hand sculpted stoneware with glazes and lustre. Wall installation Fernanda Cortes Voliamo sotto la pioggia, 2026 Hand sculpted stoneware with blue and metallic glazes and lustre. Wall installation #contemporaryceramics #ceramicsculpture #ceramicart #ceramicartist #handbuiltceramics #stoneware #porcelain #sculptureinclay #conceptualceramics #installationart #londoncraftweek #universityofleeds

REFIGURED now open at County Hall Pottery, 12 May - 21 June ✨ County Hall Pottery are pleased to present the launch of our latest exhibition ‘Refigured’, part of London Craft Week @londoncraftweek ‘Refigured’ brings together a group of artists working with the human form in clay, reconsidering how the body has been shaped, symbolised and understood across time. Across sculpture, statuary, devotional forms, and porcelain figurines, Refigured presents a collective reassessment of the human presence in clay. Drawing on mythic, classical, and domestic traditions, the works return to forms we think we know and reshape them for the present. Thank you to everyone who came to our launch event last night! We were delighted to celebrate the opening of our new exhibition with so many of you. Exhibiting Artists Fernanda Cortes @fer.corte Claire Curneen @clairecurneen Jessica Harrison @jessicaharrisonstudio John Rainey @john_rainey_ #whatsonlondon #londoncraftweek #ceramicart #figurativesculpture #countyhallpottery

Save the date | Refigured We’re pleased to announce our upcoming exhibition "Refigured: Embodiment in Contemporary Ceramics" at County Hall Pottery presented as part of @londoncraftweek opening next month, 12th May. Refigured: Embodiment in Contemporary Ceramics brings together a group of artists working with the human form in clay, reconsidering how the body has been shaped, symbolised and understood across time. For millennia, clay has carried the likeness of the body, from devotional figures and classical statuary to domestic ornaments and porcelain figurines. In this exhibition, these inherited forms are neither preserved nor rejected, but carefully re-examined. Across the works, familiar archetypes begin to shift. Surfaces that appear delicate reveal tension beneath. Gestures become loaded with new meaning. Ornament turns quietly subversive. The ceramic body, once decorative or symbolic, emerges instead as something more unstable, intimate and unresolved. Working across earthenware, stoneware and porcelain, the artists explore themes of fragility, gender, authority and collective memory. The body becomes a site of contradiction. Both iconic and breakable, shaped by history yet open to reinterpretation. This exhibition invites a slower looking. A reconsideration of what we recognise, and what we may have overlooked. More details to follow soon. Save the date: 12 May - 21 June PV 11 May 6-9 pm. Book your free ticket via link in bio! @londoncraftweek #CountyHallPottery #CeramicsExhibition #ContemporaryCeramics #FigurativeCeramics

Introducing @fer.corte who will be exhibiting in Micromania, a group exhibition which opens 14.03.2026 - 12.04.2026, at hondstraat 1A in Maastricht. ••• Fernanda Cortes is a Mexican-Italian artist based in the UK, where she has developed her creative practice over the past nine years. With a background in Product Design from UNAM, she has a deep appreciation for materiality and form. Her studies in Paris and Canada led her to ceramics, a medium through which she explores the emotional layers of human experience. Her work combines sculpture and storytelling, using anthropomorphic forms to examine vulnerability, resilience, and dehumanisation. Short stories accompany her sculptures, adding depth to the interplay of light and shadow in each piece. Cortes was selected for residencies at Guldagergaard in Denmark and La Meridiana in Italy, supported by the Arts Council’s ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Grant. She has also received the Ciudad de Vénissieux Award at the Manises Biennial in Spain. Currently working from her studio at the Sculpture Lounge in Holmfirth, Cortes is focused on her project Emotional Flow in the Era of Microaggressions, supported by the Bruckner Foundation’s Bursary for the Encouragement of Ceramics Creation. This project reflects her commitment to connecting personal and societal narratives. (Photo 2 is an example of one of het artworks. Please check her account to see more) ••• Liminal Gallery and Kalkman Gallery will be introducing artists participating in our collaborative group exhibition ‘Micromania’, which opens March 2026, in Maastricht.  Artworks from the exhibition will be revealed in March 2026.  To request early access to the catalogue, or to attend the Private View, please email [email protected] & [email protected] Thank you 🥂

I'm happy to be part of the group of 20 artists selected for the Authentic exhibition at @ceramic.art.andenne Even prouder to be surrounded by such talented people, my recent visit to Belgium truly felt like a dream. I had the chance to meet new faces, reconnect with my dear mentor and friend @smitcarolein always grateful for your encouragement and care, and to see my friend from our Master's days @ceramist_ar After all these years apart, something quietly stayed warm. @ceramic.art.andenne runs from 17 May to 15 June 2025, Wednesday to Sunday. Out of nearly 800 applications from 23 countries, the jury selected 20 artists for the group exhibition. I'm honoured to be among them. You’re warmly invited to come and experience this amazing exhibition! Exhibiting artists: @cecile.bichon @kerakeza @mirkadrapaniotou @rachelfoxwell_ @heidihentze @peterchristianjohnson @hiemstra_ceramics @mingmiaoko @weronika_lucinska @juliette_mangenot_sculpture @doramorfi_ceramics @simone_negri_ @nualaodonovan @benoit.pouplard @learenard.ceramic @laurascopa78 @daito.tkfs @mirjamveldhuis4498 @velimirvukicevic elswenselaersstudio @dorothee.wenz #ceramicartandenne #contemporaryceramics #groupshow #belgium

Grateful to @fitzartsadvisory @ceramicartlondon and @ceramicreview for the kind invitation to speak on Friday about Figurative Ceramics Today. It was a pleasure to share space and thoughts with @enriqueperezalbared as a fellow invited artist, considering our practices, the depth of figurative ceramics, and the ways this genre is being received in the current ceramics market. I had a meaningful day, felt lucky to be part of it, reconnected with familiar faces, and met some wonderful new ones. Thank you all for your presence and warmth. In the image, we are at Enrique’s stand, surrounded by his beautiful work. #ceramicartlondon #figurativeceramics #contemporaryceramic #claycommunity #CeramicTalks #sculpture

Talk: Figurative Ceramics Today Fernanda Cortes @fer.corte – Casting & Ceramics Technician at @universityofleeds – will join artist Enrique Pérez Alba-Red @enriqueperezalbaredart for a conversation hosted by collector and curator Preston Fitzgerald @fitzartsadvisory Together, they’ll explore the Figurative genre in ceramics. 📍 @ceramicartlondon 🗓 Friday 9 May, 11:00 am 📌 Olympia West, London Fernanda will share the influences and motivations behind her hybrid human-animal sculptures rooted in mythology. Enrique’s work in porcelain references historical forms with a pop culture twist. 🎟 Ceramic Art London runs from 9–11 May 2025, showcasing 120+ ceramic artists from around the world. Organised @craftpotters it’s a leading event for contemporary ceramic art. *About Fernanda Cortes* Fernanda joined the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies @universityofleeds as a Casting and Ceramics Technician in November 2024. @fer.corte is a Mexican-Italian artist based in the UK, where she has developed her creative practice over the past nine years. Her work combines sculpture & storytelling, using anthropomorphic forms to examine vulnerability, resilience & dehumanisation. Short stories accompany her sculptures, adding depth to the interplay of light & shadow in each piece. Images © Fernanda Corte: La primera vez que te conocí, 2023 Hand-sculpted porcelain, turquoise glaze, and gold gilt Paw, 2024 Stained porcelain body with glaze #CeramicArtLondon #FigurativeCeramics #FernandaCortes #EnriquePerezAlbaRed #ContemporaryCeramics #CeramicArt #ClayCommunity #CraftPottersAssociation #MexicanArtistsAbroad #UniversityOfLeeds #fahacs #SculptureAndClay

Artwork Spotlight ✨ @fer.corte - Fernanda Cortes Image 1: ‘My Adult Incubo’, 2024, Hand Sculpted Stoneware Ceramic with Transparent Glaze and Transfers, 63 (H) x 32.5 (W) x 12.5cm (D) Image 2: ‘Untitled’, 2024, Hand-Sculpted and Stained Porcelain, Float Mounted onto Royal Blue Velvet and Framed in an Ash Moulding with Royal Blue Spacers, 27.5 (H) x 36 (W) x 7cm (D), Currently exhibited at Liminal Gallery in 'A Dream Within A Dream' in our Main Space, which comes to an end this Saturday 22 March. Visit us for your last chance to catch this show! Liminal Gallery, 34 Fort Hill, Margate, CT9 1HD. We’re open Thursday-Saturday 11am-4pm or outside of these times by appointment. To enquire into this artwork, or for the full works list, please contact us [email protected] #adreamwithinadream #fernandacortes #liminalgallery #margategallery #margate #artinmargate #contemporarysculpture #contemporaryart

(A)wake, 2019
Hand-sculpted stained porcelain with a semi-matte pink glaze. Six years ago, my talented friend, animator, and illustrator @erminart and I created (A)wake. This collaborative project combines a 2D digital animation by @erminart with my clay sculpture. The animation is available to view through the link in my bio. (A)wake reflects a shared curiosity about the beliefs and superstitions of our cultures—Mexican and Kazakh—regarding sleep, dreams, the afterlife, and the spirits of the dead. We discovered striking similarities in how we honour the dead and connect sleep to the realm of the departed. We were inspired by the idea of sleep as a fleeting death, a state where our bodies are still and vulnerable, while our minds venture into a different consciousness. Dreams may come and go, often forgotten, while the world continues unnoticed around us. #Ceramics #Animation #Collaboration #Sculpture #CulturalConnections

My Adult Incubo, 2024 Hand sculpted stoneware ceramics, transparent glaze and transfers. ‘I just woke up. I’m scared and not sure where I am. When I was a child, there was a clock on the wall in the hallway. My door was always open when I went to sleep, so if I ever had a bad dream, Mum would run to catch me. It was the clock that frightened me, it was moving, making strange faces every time the second hand ticked. Even when I hid myself under the covers, I could hear it laughing, tic-toc, tic-toc. Once, I even saw my teddy bear moving, walking towards me. She believed everything I said. She hugged me and told me she would speak with them, with the clock, with the bear, with the tap water in the toilet telling all of them to let me sleep, reassuring me I was safe. I only felt safe when she hugged me, and I didn’t want her to leave, so I begged her to stay every night. She stayed until her arms couldn’t hold me anymore. Now, after I moved houses, I have a partner and my own kids to hug in case they have a nightmare. But there is no one to rescue me when I have mine. No arms are enough to console me, so I just try to carry on. I stand up, run to the toilet, pee, and then see my face in the mirror. I don’t look good, I look like I’ve had anything but rest. I start to piece together the images: Who is she? What was she doing in my dream? What was he holding? Was I in pain? Meanwhile, in my reflexion, I’m trying to fix my hair, my eyes, my teeth, I suddenly speak angry words. I’m answering those in my dream but then I realise I’m saying it to my reflection, staring back at me with a direct, serious anger that scares me. That’s when I know it’s time to move on, to leave the room. Then, any excuse to forget. Let’s walk the dogs, take the kids to school, rush to work. Until I fall asleep and wake up again. Years can pass like that. I will say nothing, and they will know nothing.’ #ceramics #art #contemporaryart #fineart #sculptureart #draining #confessions #sculpture #stoneware #handbuilt #LiminalGallery

Excited to be part of ‘A Dream Within A Dream’ at Liminal Gallery @liminal_gallery Join us on Saturday 1 February, 5-8pm, to celebrate the opening of this group exhibition featuring six contemporary artists: @zenablackwellartist @chloe_bonfield @fer.corte @natalkaliberstephenson @candicetripp @maudwhatley Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, the exhibition blurs the lines between reality and illusion, exploring perception, memory, and storytelling. #ADreamWithinADream #LiminalGallery #ContemporaryArt #OpeningNight #exhibitionannouncement #privateview #exhibitionopening #artexhibition #contemporaryart #sculpture #ceramics #liminalgallery #artinmargate #margate #margategallery

I created this piece in 2016 when I graduated from the @royalcollegeofart - For one reason or another, this artwork has accompanied me through every move I've made around London and to the north of England, between my homes and studios. At one point, it lost an ear when my Freddy-boy hit it during one of his zoomy moments. I repaired it with gold, and now I love it even more. My baby bat is finally framed and ready for a new home. This unique piece is made of stoneware, metallic glaze, and gold. #ceramicstudio #sculpture #figurativeart #clay #artjourney #uniqueart #goldrepair #stonewareceramics #metallicglaze #artexhibitions #oneofakind #artforsale #homedecor #artlovers #galleryshow