Juana Marta Rodas

Juana Marta Rodas (February 8, 1925 – August 8, 2013) was a Paraguayan ceramist.

Biography Rodas was born on February 8, 1925, in Itá in the Central Department, a city that is nicknamed the Capital of Ceramics. She died on August 8, 2013.

She was educated in ceramic art by her mother Juana de Jesús Oviedo and grandmother María Balbina Cuevas. Herself, she passed her knowledge to her daughter with whom she worked together great part of her career and who became a known ceramist herself too, Julia Isídrez. Together they held exhibitions internationally and received many international awards.

Rodas' work should be classified as modern art, and is characterized by traditional pottery of the countryside with exotic Jesuit and contemporary techniques. Josefina Pla characterized her work as "micro-sculptures" in her book La cerámica popular Paraguaya.

Art critic and academic Ticio Escobar comprises their art as follows: "one of the most strong and original testimonies of contemporary Paraguayan art, and a tribute to its noble history". Her work can be found in private collections, cultural centers and museums in Paraguay and abroad.

Expositions The art of Rodas and Isídrez was shown on many expositions in Paraguay and abroad. Here follows a selection: 1976. Gallery van the UNESCO, Paris 1992 and 1993: Gallery Fábrica, Asunción 1994: Salon of the Biennale Martel, Cultural City Center, Asunción 1995: Gallery Lamarca, Asunción 1995: Center of Visual Arts, Museo del Barro, Asunción 1996: Gallery Fábrica, Asunción 1997: Gallery Lamarca, Asunción 1998 and 1999: Center of Visual Arts, Museo del Barro, Asunción 1999: Biennale of the Mercosur, Porto Alegre 2007: 16th international year fair ARte COntemporáneo (ARCO), Madrid 2008: 35th international exhibition of traditional art, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago 2009: Museum of Contemporary Crafts Art of Chile, Santiago

Awards Rodas received many awards, greatly together with her daughter Julia Isídrez: 1994: Grand Prize, Biennale of Martel for Visual Arts, Cultural City Center, Asunción 1998: Prize of the city of Madrid 1999: Prince Claus Award 1999: Award for Best Craft Artist of the UNESCO, the Central Department and the society Hecho à Mano 2001: First Prize in Traditional Art, Cooperativa Universitaria 2008: Lorenzo Berg Salvo Prize, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago 2009: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, France