«My brother was an artist, and a very big group of my friends began to be,» he recalled José Noé Suro while narrating the transition from his title in law to a life dedicated to art. At present, Suro leads with mastery Suro Ceramic, a factory of ideas that, through ceramics, he has intrepally challenged barriers between art, what is done by hand and designbecoming an accomplice of innumerable creatives with which he has collaborated nationally and internationally.
However, the story of this workshop embraces a more extensive past. Before erecting like the giant of contemporary art that is todaythe factory threw its modest roots as a family handmade workshop in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, in 1951. It was not until the 90s that José Noé Suro and his brother, Luis Miguel, plastic artistthey were completely immersed in the workshop, exploring the artistic possibilities inherent in the material. «It was a workshop like any other decorative ceramics; my dad began to work on special projects with hoteliers and chefs, but they were purely decorative articles until my brother, his work and I integrated,» José Noé recalled, placing the growing artistic production, the effervescent scene of collecting and close coexistence with other artists and local creatives as motor forces in that transformation.
«Suro Ceramics: a history of collaboration, production and collecting in contemporary art» was a sample that summarized the evolution of this Mexican firm.Pepe Molina
The arrival of Expoarte, the first contemporary art fair in Mexicomarked a crucial moment in the history of Suro Ceramics and in the life of José Noé Suro. «It was a very interesting moment in Guadalajara, Expoarte arrived, the first contemporary art fair in Mexico. There I fell in love with collecting and working with artists,» he shared. Luis Miguel, his brother, left a bold artistic legacy that reflected the first experiments that released the conventional production workshop. José Noé continued this legacy through collaborations with artists, architects, designers and chefs, shaping what Ceramic Suro is today: a factory of ideas In constant transformation. «He took 30 years to the level of production and the artists we work with now,» said Suro. His collection and collaborations from the factory exceed 700 pieces, as evidenced by the exhibition Suro Ceramics: A collaboration story, production and collecting in contemporary art«, Cured by Viviana Kuri and presented at the Museum of Art of Zapopan (MAZ) from 2021 to 2022. From February, some of these pieces can be seen on the second platform floor, an exhibition space that opens with the exhibition Convergences / divergences.