In Memoriam. Alfonso Carlos Orce Villar

Abstract

With these lines, we pay tribute not only to the artist, but also to the man who devoted his life to clay, color, tradition, and teaching. His work bears witness to a Seville that loves ceramics, respects it, and, thanks to him, keeps its artistic memory alive.

The world of ceramics and Sevillian art mourns the loss of Alfonso Carlos Orce Villar, a prominent artist, researcher, and teacher, who died on August 15, 2025, in his hometown of Seville.

Born on July 17, 1959, in the historic neighborhood of Triana, Alfonso Orce Villar grew up surrounded by the tradition of ceramics. The grandson of renowned ceramist Enrique Orce Mármol, Alfonso was introduced to clay, glazes, and kilns at a very young age, learning the craft from the ground up.

His passion for the arts led him to earn a degree in Fine Arts in 1987, and in 1994 he defended his doctoral thesis on the work and legacy of his grandfather, entitled “Enrique Orce, the rise of Sevillian ceramics,” contributing to the knowledge and preservation of the region's ceramic tradition.