Feature Friday - Kimberly Orjuela
Photo by Julie Ciot
Name
Kimberly Orjuela
Pronouns
She/Her
Bio
Kimberly Orjuela is a Colombian artist based in Montreal, Canada. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 2023. She received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts in 2024, 2025, 2026 and le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec in 2025. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including a group exhibition at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art curated by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts in March 2025, and is currently on view in Ancestral Abiayala: Ceramics from Indigenous Latin America at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.
Instagram
@kimsfolkart
Website
https://kimberlyorjuela.com
Where in Montreal are you located?
I'm in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, but my studio is located downtown.
What do you love about your neighborhood?
I love Rosemont because it is the perfect balance between the energy of the city and the warmth of a residential neighbourhood. The of parks, trees, and public amenities makes it a wonderful place to live, and it's a neighbourhood where I always feel safe.
What’s your favourite art space in Montreal and why?
The Belgo Building, with its iconic vernissage evenings. It does a great job at bringing the artistic community together.
Describe your art practice in your own words.
My practice encompasses a lot of different things, but at its core I'm deeply inspired by pre-Columbian ceramics and the cosmologies connected to them. I believe the ancestral knowledge and messages carried through these objects are still incredibly relevant to many of the issues we face today, especially around mental health and climate change. Through my work, I hope to honour histories that have been forgotten or erased, offer perspectives that encourage us to decolonize our ways of thinking, and remind us that caring for ourselves, each other, and the natural world are all deeply interconnected.
What mediums do you work with?
Mainly Ceramics
What are you currently working on?
I currently have 3 upcoming exhibitions this fall:
- 2026 Virginia McClure Ceramic Biennale at McClure Gallery in October. (Montreal)
- The Jaguar and the Scarlet Bird at OBORO in October (Montreal)
- Art Toronto at the end of October.
I’m working on a couple of different sculptures that relate the theme of every exhibition.
The Observer photographed by Julie Ciot
Where do you find your inspiration?
A lot of my inspiration comes from studying pre-Columbian ceramics and art from Colombia, as well as observing the country's rich biodiversity—its plants, trees, reptiles, and insects. Every time I travel back to Colombia, I return with a renewed sense of inspiration and a deeper connection to my roots. I also draw inspiration from the ideas and messages I want my sculptures to carry, particularly around collective care, well-being, and our relationship with one another and the natural world.
Describe your creative process.
It usually starts with an abstract idea that I sketch in my notebook. From there, I think about the structure of the sculpture and how I can realistically bring it to life in clay. Once the piece is sculpted, I paint it using my own terra sigillata recipes—a traditional clay-based surface finish that was also used to decorate ancient ceramic vessels and sculptures. The work then goes through two firings, and sometimes a third if I decide to add gold luster to certain areas.
What led you to pursue visual art?
A series of life events after graduating from high school led me to the art program at John Abbott College. That's where I fell in love with art, and I knew I wanted to pursue it as a career.
Is there any medium you don’t currently work with, but would like to explore?
Yes! I used to be a painter during university, and I'd love to get back into painting one day. More recently, I've also started exploring textile installation, and it's a medium I'm excited to continue experimenting with.
Futures Ancetres photographed by Anthony François
