About Ireri Krueger

A figurative ceramic sculptor working from Boone, North Carolina, with roots in the art schools of Mexico City.

Rooted, a ceramic sculpture by Ireri Krueger of a serene head with a bare tree growing from the crown
Rooted · glazed ceramic
The Artist

A practice rooted in the figure

Ireri Krueger is a figurative ceramic sculptor based in Boone, North Carolina. Her path to clay began in Mexico City, where she studied painting, sculpture, and etching at the renowned La Esmeralda school of art, and trained in graphic design at the Instituto Tecnológico del Ángel.

After a period in San Diego studying cabinet making and furniture design, she settled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. In 2017 she earned her BFA in Studio Art, with a concentration in Ceramics, from Appalachian State University.

Her sculpture has been exhibited at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum and in numerous juried exhibitions, and recognized with honors including the Martin & Doris Rosen Scholarship and a Plemons Student Union Purchase Award. She continues to deepen her study of the figure in clay through residencies and intensives with the acclaimed ceramic sculptor Cristina Córdova, and works in both English and Spanish.

See exhibitions & full CV

Artist Statement
My goal is to use ceramic sculpture as a bridge between the internal and the external, the personal and the collective.

I am a ceramic sculptor whose work is shaped by my cultural roots and the evolving context of my daily life. My practice centers on figurative sculpture, using clay to explore the space between lived experience and the subconscious. Drawing from dreams, emotions, and internal narratives, I create forms that give physical presence to states that are often difficult to name or understand.

My figures often emerge as distorted or heightened versions of the human body, reflecting moments of emotional intensity, tension, or transformation. Through surface, gesture, and form, I investigate the unfamiliar or unresolved aspects of my inner world, those that resist clarity but demand attention.

Each sculpture becomes a process of inquiry, a way of confronting and translating what feels intangible into something material and visible. By externalizing these experiences, I create a space for dialogue, where viewers are invited to recognize elements of their own emotional landscape within the work.

Ultimately, my goal is to use ceramic sculpture as a bridge between the internal and the external, the personal and the collective, fostering connection through shared, embodied experience.

Background

Education & skills

Education

  • BFA, Studio Art (Ceramics) Appalachian State University, Boone, NC · 2017
  • Painting, Sculpture & Etching La Esmeralda, Mexico City · 1989–1991
  • Technical Training in Graphic Design Instituto Tecnológico del Ángel, Mexico City · 1989–1991
  • Cabinet Making & Furniture Design Chula Vista Adult School, San Diego, CA · 1995–2000

Skills & practice

  • Figurative ceramic sculpture
  • Surface development and glaze techniques
  • Kiln operation, low-fire and mid-range
  • Mold making and casting
  • Woodworking and furniture design
  • Bilingual: English and Spanish
See the Work

Explore the sculpture

Browse the full gallery of figurative ceramic work, or reach out with a question.