Whitehot Magazine

In the Studio with Obed Sanchez-Liborio

Obed Sanchez-Liborio in his garden studioObed Sanchez-Liborio in his garden studio

By JONATHAN OROZCO October 11, 2025

Ceramicist Obed Sanchez-Liborio’s studio is a little unusual: it’s an outdoor garden. Though his family is from Acapulco, Sanchez-Liborio ended up in the American Midwest, where he has a reputation for being a baker and an artist.

Years ago, he ran a now-defunct guerilla/underground home restaurant called Grainolia, and now has a hybrid practice similar to Rirkrit Tiravanija’s, with community meals.

In one such event, Sanchez-Liborio and Seitu Ken Jones organized a community meal for 150 called FoodJustUs at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Using Sanchez-Liborio’s ceramics, the meal was meant to focus on food insecurity and justice.

He hosted a similar community meal at a former Catholic monastery in North Omaha in 2022.

Sanchez-Liborio gave me a tour of his outdoor garden-studio, with a grill, potter's wheel, and a sink hooked to a hose. Below are images from a recent studio visit, where he walked me through throwing a bowl.

Obed Sanchez-Liborio in his garden studio

Ceramics on a table

A kneading table

Obed Sanchez-Liborio kneading clay

Clay residue on a kneading table

Obed Sanchez-Liborio throwing on a pottery wheel

Obed Sanchez-Liborio's hands at work on a pottery wheel

A nearly finished bowl on a pottery wheel

Obed Sanchez-Liborio's finished bowl

 


 

 

Jonathan Orozco

Jonathan Orozco is an independent writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his art history BA from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2020. Orozco runs an art blog called Art Discourses, which primarily covers Midwest artists and exhibitions.

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