'Creative Fusion' International Artist Debuts Work Saturday at Zygote Press

After spending the past few months living and working in Cleveland, the Cleveland Foundation’s current class of Creative Fusion international artists are preparing to showcase the results of their residencies with various local arts and cultural organizations.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Zygote Press hosts a reception for their resident artist, Mauricio Cristobal Cortes Fuentes of Santiago, Chile. He is a Master goldsmith as well as printmaker. His background in goldsmithing shows in his unique prints.

Fuentes is in Cleveland as one of the Cleveland Foundation's Creative Fusion 2015 Spring Class, which brings six international artists from Armenia, Bulgaria, Chile and Romania to Cleveland for three-month residencies and partners them with local, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, including the Cleveland Print Room, Sculpture Center, Ingenuity Cleveland, Inlet Dance Theatre, Verb Ballets and Zygote Press.

Zygote Press is hosting Fuentes, who studied with master goldsmith Waldo Villalón before receiving his own master goldsmith degree from Liceo Experimental Artistico, as well as a degree in printmaking from Universidad de Chile in 2013. Fuentes specializes in silver filigree work, taught to him by Villalón. He translates the intricate skills he developed as a goldsmith to intaglio prints through both etching and engraving. Since beginning his residency in March, he's been busy working with students at Kent State University as well as on a number of other projects.

“(Visitors) are going to see work from somebody who really likes drawing and uses engraving for that purpose,” explained Fuentes in an interview with Scene last month. “Sometimes I spend all day just making lines on a plate, but these lines have shapes that are totally recognizable. So the people who come to my show will be able to see what these ‘drawings’ look like.”

“Mauricio has really gotten to explore a vast array of media and mediations with so many of our artist residents, tour groups, educational programming with groups and students,” explains Zygote Press’ Executive Director Liz Maugans. “Much of this work is going to be celebrated in his exhibition, called Lineal Realms: which are these connecting forces that he has encountered here in Cleveland. Engravings, filigree work, enamels, drawings, much will be previewed in his opening reception.”

The artist will speak at 2 p.m. Lineal Realms runs through May 27, and Fuentes will return to Chile mid-June.

(Zygote Press) 1410 E. 30th St., 216-621-2900, zygotepress.com