“Gonzales’s ceramic works seem to emerge from the artist’s birthplace in New Mexico—a region long recognized as a nexus for unexplained phenomena. Working with clay, he develops a personal vocabulary challenging institutional narratives around otherworldly intelligence by grounding them in lived experiences and regional folklore.

Each vessel—Saucer, Loopers, Volcanico, Radio, Orb, Bus Seat, Speaker Cone, Powerline, and A Winged Vessel for Seeds—functions as both artifact and communication device, connecting the terrestrial with the cosmic. The earthenware’s tactile presence roots these unusual forms in local tradition, invoking centuries-old Southwestern material practices while suggesting interstellar possibilities.

Gonzales positions alien encounters not as threats requiring militarization, but as elements of personal cosmology shaped by place and memory. The Radio and Powerline pieces reflect human outreach attempts—connection technologies seeking contact across vast distances.

By crafting these symbols in clay—earth itself—Gonzales dissolves the boundary between extraterrestrial and familiar, encouraging approaches through wonder rather than conquest.”

— Ninth Planet Collective