Hariti, 2023–26 · Pigments, glazes, oxides, and lusters on porcelain and earthenware, and metal wire
95 × 43 × 25 inches (241.3 × 109.2 × 63.5 cm)
The basis of Barrero’s work is the handmade ceramic bead, with hundreds of beads joining to create a single sculpture. The beads take their inspiration from divine and universal sources, from the artist’s memories of her grandmother’s rosary to Greek komboloi (worry beads), and Buddhist prayer beads, which she encountered while living and working in Kyoto.
To form the beads, she employs unconventional combinations of porcelain, earthenware, and terracotta, as well as soils from Japan, Mexico, and Spain to “unite different sources of earth in the figure of the mother.” She merges these with different glazing techniques and links or “weaves” the beads with metal wire, an homage to two forms of ceramic repair—the Spanish lañado, which restores ceramics with metal bindings or lañas—and the Japanese kintsugi, which mends breakages with lacquer dusted with powdered metals, such as gold.
Exhibited in Inma Barrero: MOTHERS, Lévy Gorvy Dayan
September 17 – October 17, 2026