Merced College features ceramic art

Ceramic art that took shape during a trip to the birth country of a San Joaquin Valley professor is the newest focus of the Merced College Art Gallery.

Fresno State professor Una Mjurka’s “Homebound” features ceramic art influenced by the thoughts of the artist during a recent trip to Latvia, where she was born.

Mjurka visited the Eastern European country during a sabbatical, according to a news release, when she conducted research that informed the underlying theme of her current work.

Ceramic sculptures and tiles were also influenced by her experiences through the course of her move to the United States in 1994, the release stated. She also said her work touches on the effects of globalization on people and nations alike.

She has said her work is also influenced by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation.”

Growing up during the Soviet Union era in Latvia was a unique experience that has influenced Mjurka’s creative work and outlook on life, according to her Fresno State profile.

Her works reflect the transformations evident within the environment, landscape, traditions, material culture and demography that affect people on a personal level and in a broader context, the release stated.

She earned her bachelor’s from the Art Academy of Latvia before earning a master’s of fine arts from San Jose State University.

Mjurka is an art professor and teaches ceramics. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe.

The show runs through Nov. 19. Entrance to the gallery is free, though there is a fee for parking.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Merced College features ceramic art."