Mendoza, Hadrian "Adi"

Holding dual citizenship in both the United States and the Philippines, Hadrian Mendoza is a highly accomplished international ceramic vanguard, curator, and educator. Born in Manila and initially educated in the United States, he completed a business degree before a formative encounter with raw clay completely altered his professional path.

In 1997, driven by a deep desire to explore his cultural roots, Mendoza returned to the Philippines. Over more than a decade based at Mount Makiling in Laguna, he experienced an artistic metamorphosis—evolving into an individualistic, nationalistic artist with a highly refined eye for Southeast Asia's ancestral forms. In 2009, he relocated back to Virginia, where he continues to run a highly active studio practice while leading visual arts programming and conducting master-level workshops across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Education & Advanced Institutional Training
2016: Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Ceramics – The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

1996–1997: Advanced Studio Fine Arts / Studio Technician Assistant – Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C.

1996: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration – Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA

Major Awards, Fellowships & Grants
2017: Recipient – Alfred E. Steck Memorial Prize for Sculpture, The George Washington University

2015: Commissioned Regional Champion – Kohler Co. Bold. Art. Asia. Campaign (Selected as one of five premier Asian ceramic artists to execute traveling international public works).

2014: Recipient – Asian Cultural Council (ACC) Humanities Fellowship Grant, New York City, USA

2012: Recipient – FuLe International Ceramic Arts Museum (FLICAM) Fellowship Grant, China

2007–2009: Institutional Grantee – Toyota Foundation Asian Neighbors Network Program Grant, Tokyo, Japan

1996–1997: Recipient – Anne and Arnold Abramson Award for Excellence in Ceramics, Corcoran Gallery of Art

Cultural Leadership & Curatorial Foundations
Mendoza is widely credited with establishing the foundational networks that unify modern Southeast Asian ceramic history:

Founder & Curator – SEApots (Contemporary Southeast Asian Ceramics): A regional collective organizing over 150 ceramic artists across ten ASEAN nations to promote collaborative global research and exhibitions.

Co-founder & Board Member – PUTIK (Philippine Potters Association): Established in 2003 to cultivate and elevate grassroots studio pottery traditions inside the Philippines.

Festival Directorships: Organized and curated major global symposia, including the 1st Southeast Asian Ceramics Festival (Ayala Museum, PH, 2007), Clay Unity: 2nd SEA Exhibition (FLICAM Museum, China), Earth and Fire: 3rd SEA Symposium (Workhouse Arts Center, VA, 2014), and The Tree of Life: 4th SEA Ceramics Festival (Ayala Museum, 2016).

Selected Individual & Group Exhibitions
Mendoza has built a formidable transnational exhibition timeline across elite North American, European, and Asian galleries:

2017: Re:View – BenCab Museum, Gallery Indigo, Tuba, Benguet, Philippines

2015: Balance – Solo Institutional Showcase, The Ayala Museum, Makati City, Philippines

2015: Bold. Art. Asia Travelling Survey – Staged across Bangkok, Thailand and five global capitals.

2009: Southeast Asian Ceramics Showcase – Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

2008: Recent Works – 856 Gallery, Cebu City, Philippines

2008: Armed and Dangerous – Izukan Gallery, Makati City, Philippines

2001: Aomori Woodfire Exhibition – Goshogawara Museum, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

2001: Philippine Anagama Project II – Jorge B. Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines Diliman

1998: 7 Months in the Philippines: A Diary Created Through Clay – Breakthrough Debut Solo Museum Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines

1997: Sculptural Vessels – Corcoran White Walls Gallery, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Permanent Institutional Collections
His rugged, historically layered stoneware items are safely preserved within major permanent public collections worldwide, including distinguished institutions across Turkey, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Korea, Japan, the United States, and the three preeminent visual art museums of the Philippines:

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila (Manila, PH)

The Ayala Museum (Makati City, PH)

The BenCab Museum (Benguet, PH)