Dora de Larios

A native Angeleno, Dora de Larios took inspiration from the diverse cultures surrounding her in the city, including most significantly, her own Mexican heritage. She often cited a childhood visit to the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City as a formative moment in her evolution as an artist, recalling how the impressive sculptures of her ancestors helped her to realize her true calling. Many of her works feature mythological creatures and goddesses influenced by her study of ancient art and world religions. Her status as a Latina in an art world dominated by white males is reflected in her concentration on the exaltation of feminine forms.

De Larios has been recognized as one of America’s most important clay artists. She received her BFA in Ceramics from the University of Southern California, and she taught ceramics at USC and UCLA. She has been featured in more than 50 solo gallery shows, group invitational shows, and juried museum exhibitions across the US, including the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York, the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC, the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 1977, she was one of 14 potters selected to make 12 place settings of dinnerware for the White House to be used at a luncheon honoring senators’ wives. In 1979, she was chosen by the City of Los Angeles to create a cement mural to present as a gift to Nagoya, Japan, L.A.’s sister city—one of the many international destinations featuring her work. Closer to home, de Larios sculptures enrich parks, government buildings and private corporations across Southern California.