Artist Talks
with Ray Im & Leslie Gomez-Gonzalez
Thursday, February 20 at 5:30pm
Artist Talks at Starworks are free and open to the public. Guests are invited to meet the artists, watch and learn as they present slides and discuss their process and influence, and ask questions about their works.
Treat Yourself - Starworks Cafe & Taproom is open during this event and proudly serves a variety of craft NC beer, delicious wine, coffee & lattes, smoothies, and much more.
Stay Late - Followed by Open Mic Night at 7pm in the Starworks Cafe & Taproom
Ray Im
Starworks Ceramics Resident Artist
Ray Im (he/him) is a Korean-born, American lens-based artist and ceramicist. Im blends the traditional techniques of ceramics and photography to create unique and contemporary works of art. Through his creations, he delves into the fascinating relationship between these two mediums, offering a fresh perspective on the interplay between tradition and modernity. Im uses the German Deadpan style in his photography, resulting in cool and detached image quality. This approach allows him to examine his subjects objectively, which is also reflected in his interdisciplinary installation sculptures and pottery works. He is presently incorporating this photographic inspiration into his sculpture series to offer a diverse range of perspectives in one complete form through his experiences at the Artist-in-Residency program at Anderson Ranch Art Center. Im earned his BFA in Photography from Baylor University and his MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He exhibited his work in various locations, including Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, South Korea, and Italy.
Leslie Gomez-Gonzalez
Starworks Ceramics Resident Artist
Leslie Gomez-Gonzalez (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator, primarily working with clay, photo, video and drawing. Their practice exists as a preoccupation with the maintenance of daily routines, and the reimagining of ritualistic practices for bodily care. Leslie holds a BFA in Studio Art, and a minor in Art History from Florida International University (2020). They have since participated in several artist residencies including the Finca Morada Artist-in-Residence program in North Miami, FL (2022), The Orange Door Residency Program in Princeton, NJ (2022), and the Chautauqua Visual Arts Residency in Chautauqua, NY (2021). Leslie is also a recipient of the Zenobia Award for Watershed’s Summer Residency in 2024. They are one of the three co-founders of the artist collective Comedor Azul, alongside Amaris Cruz Guerrero and Joaquín Stacey-Calle. Since 2022, Leslie has created and facilitated clay-centered and ceramic workshops which are grounded in the co-creation of intentionality and radical slowness amidst learning spaces.