Wood-fired Stoneware
Spirit Bags 1-3
One of the leading ceramic artists of our times, Reitz?s work is found in collections such as the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of American Art, and the Mudgee Art Museum in Mudgee, Australia. In 1957 he received his Bachelors degree in Art Education from Kutztown State College in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, New York, in 1962. Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, Reitz taught at the university from 1962-1988. Still active since retiring from teaching, Reitz gives lectures and workshops across the United States and throughout the world. Reitz has revived the ancient technique of salt-glazing in the world of ceramics. His commitment to the process and his groundbreaking developments in ceramics have made him one of the most innovative living ceramicists. This dramatic vessel by Reitz resonates abstract expressionism.
Grand Slam No. 3
Untitled
Vermont artist Karen Karnes is one of the foremost ceramic artists living in the United States today. She was a student at Black Mountain College during the summer of 1946. In the early fifties she returned as a resident potter. The avant-garde artists, Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage were among the many creative minds at Black Mountain College during this period in history. Another leading figure in ceramic art today, Peter Voulkos also taught a summer course there in the early 1950’s. After leaving Black Mountain College she moved to Stony Point, a rural area one hour from New York City. It was during the twenty-five years spent here that she honed her skills in the traditional manner of pottery. She reveled in her role as the local potter because it allowed for personal relationships. This simple way of life awarded her great pleasure with modest economic rewards. In 1979 Karnes moved from Stony Point to Morgan, Vermont. She began working in much larger scale in response to her new open environment. Her works became sculptural abstractions rooted in Modernism as they naturally evolved. The techniques she had mastered in clay decades earlier allowed the metamorphosis in her art to occur. Karnes has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Vermont Arts Council 1997 Governor?s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the 1988 Visual Arts Fellowship, and the 1990 Medal for Excellence in Craft from the Society of Arts and Crafts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are amongst a few of the major museums that have her work in their collections.
Untitled
Vermont artist Karen Karnes is one of the foremost ceramic artists living in the United States today. She was a student at Black Mountain College during the summer of 1946. In the early fifties she returned as a resident potter. The avant-garde artists, Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage were among the many creative minds at Black Mountain College during this period in history. Another leading figure in ceramic art today, Peter Voulkos also taught a summer course there in the early 1950’s. After leaving Black Mountain College she moved to Stony Point, a rural area one hour from New York City. It was during the twenty-five years spent here that she honed her skills in the traditional manner of pottery. She reveled in her role as the local potter because it allowed for personal relationships. This simple way of life awarded her great pleasure with modest economic rewards. In 1979 Karnes moved from Stony Point to Morgan, Vermont. She began working in much larger scale in response to her new open environment. Her works became sculptural abstractions rooted in Modernism as they naturally evolved. The techniques she had mastered in clay decades earlier allowed the metamorphosis in her art to occur. Karnes has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Vermont Arts Council 1997 Governor?s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the 1988 Visual Arts Fellowship, and the 1990 Medal for Excellence in Craft from the Society of Arts and Crafts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are amongst a few of the major museums that have her work in their collections. In this wood-fired piece by Karnes, the ash from the kiln has created a speckled effect which gives it a light and airy quality. The anthropomorphic shape of this vessel lends a sensual quality. Light flows through the space of the vessel through a small opening in the center. Her work unmistakably remains grounded in the traditions of pottery even though her latest pieces are rooted in Modernism.
Platter
In postwar ceramics, Voulkos transformed his wheel-thrown and altered pots into massive sculptural pieces of art. He succeeded in liberating his works from the confines of the vessel. His laid back style and unconventional methods appealed to his students at Otis Art Institute (known as the Los Angeles County Art Institute at that time) who flourished under the influence of their exciting young instructor. Voulkos and his students drastically changed traditional approaches to clay and this led to an inevitable clash with the administration who elected to fire Voulkos. His students at Otis had fond memories of him such as playing a modified version of a Zen game. They played a version that consisted of a two minute challenge to see who could make the ugliest teapot in that brief amount of time. After his firing the University of California at Berkeley hired him and he remained there for thirty years. Voulkos?s innovations with clay were unprecedented and literally shocked the ceramic world into its own elevated status. The spirit of Abstract Expressionism was infused in the massive sculptural pieces he was constructing. Like the Abstract Expressionist painters who made large spontaneous gestural marks across their canvases, he slashed, gouged, and slit the surfaces of his works. He was well acquainted with the Abstract Expressionist artists (or as they preferred to call themselves, the New York School artists) whom he spent time with during his summers when he taught at Columbia University in New York. He gathered with the likes of DeKooning and Pollock at the infamous Cedar Tavern where they held lively discussions about art.
Alegria
In postwar ceramics, Voulkos transformed his wheel-thrown and altered pots into massive sculptural pieces of art. He succeeded in liberating his works from the confines of the vessel. His laid back style and unconventional methods appealed to his students at Otis Art Institute (known as the Los Angeles County Art Institute at that time) who flourished under the influence of their exciting young instructor. Voulkos and his students drastically changed traditional approaches to clay and this led to an inevitable clash with the administration who elected to fire Voulkos. His students at Otis had fond memories of him such as playing a modified version of a Zen game. They played a version that consisted of a two minute challenge to see who could make the ugliest teapot in that brief amount of time. After his firing the University of California at Berkeley hired him and he remained there for thirty years. Voulkos?s innovations with clay were unprecedented and literally shocked the ceramic world into its own elevated status. The spirit of Abstract Expressionism was infused in the massive sculptural pieces he was constructing. Like the Abstract Expressionist painters who made large spontaneous gestural marks across their canvases, he slashed, gouged, and slit the surfaces of his works. He was well acquainted with the Abstract Expressionist artists (or as they preferred to call themselves, the New York School artists) whom he spent time with during his summers when he taught at Columbia University in New York. He gathered with the likes of DeKooning and Pollock at the infamous Cedar Tavern where they held lively discussions about art. Alegria is one of Voulkos?s extraordinary ?Stacks.? The astonishing fluidity of this work belies the level of skill it requires to create a massive vessel such as this. The shards of clay pieced together look as if they could topple at a moment?s notice. The violent gouges, pluggings and slashes serve to unify the work and exhibit his roots in Abstract Expressionism. His awards are too numerous to list but include the Rodin Museum Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Ceramic Lifetime Achievement of the Year Award in 1997.