"Biography"

JOSE LUIS YAMUNAQUE

Sculptor, Ceramist, Educator

José Luis Yamunaqué was born in 1951 in the northern region of Perú in the village of Chulucanas. Early in his life, he was inspired to learn and pursue the artistry of Pre-Colombian ceramic traditions under the guidance of his father, Severino Yamunaqué.

He realized his formal studies at the National School of Ceramics in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1976.  There, he began his quest to incorporate the ancient techniques into a modern context.  When he returned to Perú, he worked as a restorer of archaeological ceramics in the National Institute of Culture.  Later in 1983, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Stituto Statal D’Arte per la Ceramica de Sesto Florentino in Florence, Italy.  While in Italy he studied sculpture with the master, Salvatore Cipolla. Yamunaque then came to the United States in 1993 and studied with the talented sculptor, Carlos Dorrien of Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

Returning to Perú, Yamunaqué provided a series workshops in Pre Columbian ceramic techniques at the National University of San Marcos, the Asociacion Peruana de Arqueologia, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Perú and at Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria.  He worked as a professor in ceramic restoration at Proyecto Regional de Patrimonio Cultural, the National Museum of Archeology and Anthropology sponsored by the Instituto Nacional de Cultura and the UNESCO.

Professionally, he has served as a visiting artist at the Cranbrook Schools and at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.  He has been an artist-in-residence for several distinguished and internationally renowned institutions including the Ceramic Arts Program at Harvard University; Wellesley College; Abilene Christian University and the Abilene Fine Arts Museum in Texas; the Institute of Santa Ana in Buenos Aires, as well as the School of Plastic Arts and the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture in Puerto Rico. 

Yamunaqué is well-known in Perú for his contemporary work with techniques, and imagery used in pre-Colombian Peruvian ceramics.  Yamunaqué is a long standing member of the New England Sculptors Association (NESA).  He has exhibited throughout the United States.  Using his own fusion of ancient traditions with modern techniques, he has produced a significant body of work he entitles, “Cerámica Infinital” which includes vessels, birds, abstract sculptures and human figures that are sought after by individual art lovers and private/public institutional collectors.  Currently, one of his sculptures is on permanent display at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. 

With each work, Yamunaqué seeks to create sculptural pieces that embody the beauty and artistry of his heritage and teachings while expressing the passion and inspiration he holds for today and hopes for the future!