TexAsian

My TexAsian work incorporates elements inspired by my Asian and Texas heritage.

In 2025, my "Rice Grains" wall sculptures were included in Houston Endowment for the Arts', Between Me and You collection. From the write-up:

Each sculpture is long and tapered to mimic a specific rice variety first cultivated in the U.S. by a Japanese immigrant, originally a gift from the Emperor of Japan. This happened to be in the small town of Webster, Texas, where Bermudez was born.

For her, rice symbolizes sustenance, prosperity, and togetherness, and is part of her own daily life. She remembers how every evening her mother would “rinse the grains three times, swirling the cloudy water with her hand…[and] measure it to her knuckle,” exactly as her father had taught her. Now, Bermudez continues this practice with her teenage sons. The ceramic surfaces are varied: some metallic to reflect the present, others fumed with horsehair, iron, and rock salts for a futuristic quality, and others textured like peeling paint to honor the past.

Bermudez’s rice grains, symbolic of the warmth found in kitchens, encompass the exhibition like arms in embrace, bridging the indoor rituals of family life with the outdoor rituals celebrated by her fellow artists, and grounding the show in themes of connection and continuity.

📸: @NickiEvansPhoto
Special thanks: @WeingartenArtGroup