Susana Espinosa, 14 cm

The expression on this 1976 piece is so authentic you just have to know it was made by a woman — and it was, by renowned Puerto Rico-based artist Susana Espinosa. Espinosa was born in Argentina in 1953 and started her ceramics career there before moving to Trinidad in 1961 and finally Puerto Rico in 1968. She has lived on P.R. ever since, contributing to public works around the island and even founding a school to teach aspiring artists. Her work is more sophisticated these days, but I prefer this piece because it only appears simple; the more you study it, the more complicated it becomes. Is this the face of a word-weary mother? A face of one who has lost a spouse? The face of a woman struggling with a changing body changing as she ages? Someone struggling to make ends meet? Its magic lies in the ability to reflect back on the viewer, and as a result hits closer to home then one realizes.