The Artist:

Raquel Zenaida Muslin is a multimedia artist and educator born and raised in New York City, where she developed an early fascination with the juxtaposition of nature and architecture. She began her studies at Vassar College with a focus on color, later expanding her practice into ceramics and glass.

Her sculptural work in recycled glass and raku ceramics centers on botanical forms and the transformative qualities of material. Drawn to contrasts between beauty and danger, fragility and permanence, Muslin explores how materials can be manipulated by the hand while retaining their own histories and associations. Her glass work reflects memories of growing up in New York City, where broken glass, crack vials, and discarded syringes were once common sights in parks and along beaches. These experiences shaped her fascination with objects that appear alluring yet carry an inherent sense of risk.

Her ceramic sculptures are deeply informed by memories of Puerto Rico and by her mother’s appreciation for the subtle beauty found in nature, particularly in the curves and undulations of dried leaves. Muslin often recreates the form of the yagrumo leaf, which turns pale and curls as it falls from the tree. She is drawn to this moment of transition, finding a distinct beauty in the leaf’s transformation and decay. Through raku firing, smoke, and flame, these delicate forms become permanent records of impermanence.

Alongside her sculptural practice, Muslin creates functional ceramics that merge these visual influences, pairing organic motifs with graphic linework inspired by urban architecture. Her functional pieces bring together the natural and the constructed, allowing these blended ideas to exist within everyday use.