Abundance by Abiam Alvarez
Saturday, January 10th 2026 - Sunday, March 1st 2026
Upcoming Programming:
-
Join us for the Opening Reception of Abiam Alvarez's Solo Show, Gina Occhiogrosso's Solo Show, and our Open Call Group Show: Saturday, Jan 10th, 2026 from 4-6PM | FREE
- Pottery Demonstration: Saturday, Jan 31st, 2026 from 4-5:30PM | FREE
“What would happen if the farmworkers were gone? I want people to think about that; we actually need immigrant workers, because otherwise, who is going to pick our food?”
– Abiam Alvarez
Abiam Alvarez makes representational sculpture that juxtaposes crops and tools as a way to communicate the labor and sacrifice of farmworkers and agricultural culture. Born in Mexico, Abiam grew up in the Central Valley agriculture town of Firebaugh, where he spent his early adolescence and teenage years working various field and labor jobs. His artwork today commemorates the monotonous and strenuous labor of farmworkers.
Clay has always been Abiam’s medium, first playing with modeling clay as a child, then discovering pottery in high school, and from there, ceramic sculpture. He works with ceramic clay because it comes from mud—the earth—and its innate physicality; you have to use your hands to mold it. For Abiam, his artistic practice is always about the clay.
In his new body of work on view, Abiam has been exploring the word ‘abundance’ as he molds large-scale sculptures of acorn squash, cantaloupe, a bundle of oranges, and pots overflowing with tomatoes. Examining abundance both positively and negatively, each sculpture represents a bounty of produce, but upon closer inspection, oranges begin to rot; tomatoes are oddly shaped and in various processes of decay; acorn squash lies open with folds of skin appearing to wrinkle. Abiam invites viewers to examine their own consumption of produce and to recognize the hard work and monotonous labor it takes for farmworkers to pick our bounty for our comfort and ease of consumption. Abiam purposefully creates multitudes of ceramic objects to mimic this often-forgotten labor and the physicality required to feed our society. In turn, the message of each sculpture is to remind us of the sacrifice farmworkers undertake every day and to ultimately respect and have gratitude for their labor.
Abiam Alvarez is a first-generation college student who received his Bachelor of Arts in Ceramics & Sculpture from California State University, Fresno, and his Master of Fine Arts in Spatial Art from San José State University. In addition to his ceramic sculpture and pottery practice, Alvarez teaches ceramics at Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill.
Abiam Alvarez is a ceramicist based in Gilroy, California. He spent the first nine years of his life in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico, before immigrating to California in 1999, where he settled in the small farming town of Firebaugh. In Firebaugh, he was inspired by his experience in the agricultural industry, where he spent his summers working in the fields. Abiam’s artwork is rooted in the Central Valley, and speaks of the labors and political issues surrounding agriculture, consumerism, and immigrant workers.
A first-generation college graduate, Abiam earned his B.A. in art and design with an emphasis in ceramics and sculpture from California State University, Fresno, and later completed his MFA in Spatial Art at San Jose State University in 2019. With 19 years of experience in ceramics, he has been teaching the subject at both the high school and collegiate levels for 13 years. He continues to expand his knowledge of contemporary and historical ceramic processes.
Abiam is passionate about both pottery and sculpture. His work focuses on creating representational ceramic sculptures of produce, juxtaposed with elements such as vessels, chunks of soil, and tools—symbols of the labor involved in fieldwork. His sculptures honor farm workers by showcasing the fruits of their labor. Most recently, Abiam has been exploring ceramic 3D printing, crafting vessels that emphasize patterns and how glazes interact with those designs. Abiam was the 2025 Content Emerging Artist Award recipient, and his work has been exhibited extensively in the West Coast, including the Santa Paula Art Museum and Palo Alto Art Center.
