On Spotlight Series: MATERIA

La Concha Resort launches Art Event Series and Art in Residence Program 

La Concha Resort, Puerto Rico, Autograph Collection, continues to elevate its cultural programming with the next chapter of its On Spotlight series—an evolving platform designed to bring contemporary art closer to guests and the local community in a dynamic and engaging way.

Launching on May 7, MATERIA—presented in collaboration with Galería SURCO—transforms the resort’s iconic lobby into a vibrant canvas where art, design, and social energy intersect. The exhibition brings together a curated group of Puerto Rican and international artists who explore ceramics through sculptural, conceptual, and experimental approaches, showcasing the material’s versatility as a contemporary medium.

MATERIA brings together a select group of Puerto Rican and international artists whose practices explore ceramics through sculptural, sonic, and conceptual approaches. The exhibition invites reflection on how a single material can evolve into multiple artistic languages through diverse processes, techniques, and sensibilities. Featured artists include Adam Freed (Topography), Aileen Castañeda (Rain Dance), Ángel R. Vázquez (Untitled), Carlos Alexis Rivera (The Grid Token), Cristina Córdoba (Head), Diana Dávila (Sidereal Journey), Luz Peña (Flowing in Balance), Ivonne Prats (Double Elastic Band), Reinaldo Sanguino (XL Chair XL CO1), and Yamileth Flores (Self-Portrait). The works, developed across various media and material approaches, highlight the versatility of ceramics as a medium for contemporary expression. The initiative is further enhanced by the integration of “Art in Residence,” where a selection of suites within the hotel will feature unique pieces by each artist participating in this event series.

More than an exhibition, MATERIA reflects La Concha’s ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful cultural connections. Following its debut at the resort, the show will continue at Galería SURCO in Bayamón, where guests and art enthusiasts can further engage through guided tours and artist-led experiences.

This collaboration builds on an established relationship between La Concha and SURCO, now taken to a new level—creating immersive moments that move beyond traditional gallery settings and invite a deeper connection between art, space, and audience.

As part of La Concha’s recent transformation into the first Autograph Collection hotel in Puerto Rico, experiences like On  Spotlight embody the spirit of “Exactly Like Nothing Else”—where art, culture, and modern tropical energy come together to create something truly distinctive.

Guests and locals alike are invited to experience MATERIA on opening night, Thursday, May 7, from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., and discover a new way of connecting with contemporary art in the heart of Condado.

Meet the Artists

ADAM FREED

Adam Freed is a contemporary American ceramist, born in New York and currently based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His work has been featured in numerous galleries across Puerto Rico and the United States. Freed creates bold and expressive pieces, both functional and sculptural.

In 2023, he globally launched a tabletop collection titled Azore, presented at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. He develops custom tabletop pieces for a variety of fine dining restaurants in Puerto Rico. He also collaborates with contemporary artists on the island, maintaining an ongoing dialogue of inspiration with his surroundings.

AILEEN CASTAÑEDA

Sculptor, ceramist, and graphic designer. Born in New York (1962) and raised in Puerto Rico, she earned a Bachelor of Arts from Drew University in the United States and continued her art studies in Florence, Italy. After returning to Puerto Rico, she worked as a graphic artist before falling in love with ceramics, which became her primary form of expression.

Over her 40-year career as a ceramist, she has exhibited, worked, and taught ceramics both in Puerto Rico and internationally. Her work is part of numerous private, public, and museum collections locally and abroad.

ÁNGEL R. VÁZQUEZ

Ángel Rafael Vázquez Figueroa, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 20, 1989. From an early age, Ángel immersed himself in the study of music, singing, and theater. This combination of experiences and his passion for music has deeply influenced his artistic practice.

A graduate of the Sculpture Department at the School of Plastic Arts and Design in 2017, the artist currently works actively on the research and production of his work from his studio in Levittown, Toa Baja. His practice is distinguished by the use of media such as ceramics, wood, and paper, among others, to create a diverse body of work that integrates ambient sound—whether original or intervened—as an integral part of the piece.

CARLITOS

Carlos Alexis Rivera Rivera (1991, San Juan, Puerto Rico), known as Carlitos, is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, muralism, tattooing, and creative direction. His visual language is rooted in abstraction, the symbolic use of color, and a deep connection to Caribbean identity. He is a graduate of the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Design and Digital Art.

His work moves between traditional fine arts and a contemporary language anchored in memory, articulating everyday spaces and a shared nostalgia that transcends time and place. His practice is primarily developed in oil on canvas and ceramics, where he explores nostalgia, permanence, and emotional memory through expressive gestures.

CRISTINA CÓRDOVA

Cristina Córdova is a contemporary sculptor and ceramics instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Fine Arts from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work is part of major collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Everson Museum, the Mint Museum, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, among others.

She has received notable recognitions such as the American Craft Fellowship (2025), the Maxwell-Hanrahan Craft Award (2024), and the Herbert Adams Medal (2023), as well as a United States Artists Fellowship. Her work has been widely published and featured, including in Ceramics Monthly and Craft in America, and she is the author of Mastering Sculpture: The Figure in Clay (2021).

DIANA DÁVILA

Diana Dávila (Santurce, Puerto Rico, 1962) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans ceramic and concrete sculpture, as well as drawing, painting, and studio jewelry. She holds a BFA from the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC-IAC).

She has been an artist-in-residence at the Bayamón Art Workshops and Residencies (2023–2026), and a fellow at Mass MoCA (2025) and the Vermont Studio Center (2019). Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions such as Pausa y Despausas (Liga de Arte de San Juan, 2022) and Tangible lo Intangible (Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, 2019), as well as in group exhibitions in Puerto Rico and internationally, including at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and the Palacio de Pedralbes. Her pieces are part of both national and international collections.

In addition to her artistic practice, she has taught at institutions such as the Liga de Arte de San Juan, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, and the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón.

IVONNE PRATS

Ivonne Prats (San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a visual artist whose practice explores the everyday, the body, and nature. She holds a BBA in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico and is a graduate of the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, with concentrations in Sculpture and Painting.

She has participated in numerous exhibitions in galleries, museums, and national showcases. Her work is part of the National Puerto Rican Art Collection and the Museum of Art and Design, and she is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. She currently works from her studio in Puerta de Tierra.

JON ANDER

Jon Ander is an artist trained at the University of Bilbao in the Basque Country and at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico, where he deepened his practice in ceramics alongside Aileen Castañeda and Toni Hambleton. His work spans painting, drawing, and ceramics, with a career that also includes editorial and advertising illustration.

He has taught at the Cultural Center of the City Council of Leganés in Madrid and has developed projects as a poster artist for the institution. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions in Madrid and Bilbao, and in group exhibitions across Puerto Rico, Europe, Asia, and the United States, including participation in LINEART (Belgium), the First Tokyo Art Festival, and exhibitions in New York.

He has received recognitions such as the Plena Moon Award (2024) and distinctions at the Plastic Arts Biennial of the Museo Casa Roig and the Ateneo Puertorriqueño. He currently collaborates with ceramist Adam Freed at Freed Pottery Studio in Santurce.

LULU PEÑA

Lulú Peña (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, 1981) is an artist and ceramist whose practice integrates psychology, visual arts, design, and ceramics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico and has training in drawing, painting, ceramics, and interior design.

She has studied with recognized artists and in spaces such as the studio of Diana Dávila, Cristina Córdova Studios, and the Penland School of Craft. Her work has been featured in multiple exhibitions both locally and internationally, and is part of private collections in Puerto Rico and the United States.

Since 2023, she has been a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC-IAC) and currently serves as a ceramics professor at the University of Puerto Rico, while continuing to develop her practice from her studio in Hato Rey.

MARICARMEN RAMOS

Maricarmen Ramos is a Puerto Rican ceramist and educator with over twenty years of experience in arts education, both within the formal education system and in community-based settings. She currently serves as a ceramics professor in the Fine Crafts program at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and is the director of Red Door Ceramic Workshop.

Her practice focuses on hand-built ceramics, through which she encourages creativity and free expression, integrating high-quality technical and artistic processes in both the development of her work and her pedagogical approach.

REINALDO SANGUINO

Reinaldo Sanguino (Caracas, Venezuela, 1973) is an artist based in Puerto Rico whose practice lies at the intersection of functional ceramics and contemporary sculpture. His work explores clay as a living material, where gesture, energy, and memory become visible, moving between the utilitarian and the symbolic.

Trained at the School of Visual Arts Cristóbal Rojas in Caracas, he relocated to New York in 1993, where he developed a language that blends ceramic traditions with a contemporary sensibility shaped by urban contexts and migratory experiences (triodedesign.com). Through materials such as stoneware and porcelain, he creates pieces that challenge the boundaries between art and everyday objects, incorporating historical, social, and spiritual references.

His work is part of major public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Mint Museum in Charlotte; and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He has participated in exhibitions and biennials such as The (S) Filesat El Museo del Barrio in New York, and was nominated for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award.

YAMILETH FLORES

Yamileth Flores is a multidisciplinary artist from Juncos, Puerto Rico, with training in sculpture, painting, ceramics, and photography. She earned a BFA with a concentration in sculpture from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico and an MFA in Ceramics from the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. Her work is part of the collection of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and has been featured in numerous group exhibitions both on and off the island. She is the co-founder of Taller Malaquita, a multidisciplinary research space led by women artists, and currently serves as a professor in the Sculpture and Painting Departments at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico.

Her practice is grounded in research, process, and everyday life, engaging play, architecture, and the body in motion as tools to question stability, permanence, and transformation. Through her work with material, she understands the artistic process as a form of archaeology, where memory, territory, and the body intertwine.