#petervoulkos

[stellabarak]

Performance with clay

I have been thinking about the relationships between ceramics and performance. The very nature of clay, its long trajectory and history, but especially the way ceramics are produced, makes it a material amenable to performance.

It isn't a coincidence, then, I think that there is a significant link between pottery, ceramics and performance.

If we look back at the recent history of modern and contemporary artists, we find a significant list of those that have employed ceramics and expanded its qualities on a performative level.

First, the one name that undeniably springs to mind is the American Lynda Benglis. Although not necessarily associated directly with ceramics, at first glance, Lynda's work comprises links between feminist art and performance, foremost. Her large oeuvre encompasses wax and latex casts, metal and of course, ceramics. The imaginative and tactile forms of Benglis's creations are at the core of her investigation and experimentation. Clay, also allowing her to bend and manipulate it in a free-form expression, also gave her the opportunity to explore it in what I see as a performative way.

The abundance of her works, the sheer sensual and gravity defying nature of the knotted works and draped fabrics, as well as her sparkles are at the centre of her idea of sculpture as "frozen moments" or frozen gestures.

The MoMA in New York has an exceptional piece of Benglis of 1998, GhostDance/PedMarks, that for me encapsulates the ongoing fascination with gestures and mark making.

In her ceramics, specifically, Benglis continued on one of her favourite motifs, the knotted bow. In a poignant retrospective of her work at the Hepworth Wakefield museum in 2015, I had the chance to experience these in person. Below you can see images of the ceramic works, which attest to the ever-shifting nature of the knots.

Second, of course American but of Greek heritage, Peter Voulkos.

I have always enjoyed watching the videos of him throwing on the wheel but even more, the ones where he is creating large sculptures out of clay, that are intentionally badly handled.

I was ecstatic when I visited one of these large sculptures and got the chance to see it in person, as part of the Victoria and Albert museum's extensive ceramics collection.

"Pinatubo" (1994) is a wood fired, stoneware sculpture, and it is currently on display in Room 142 of the Lydia and Manfred Gorey gallery at the V&A.

[studioahead]

Gallery Spotlight: Jeffrey Spahn

This month we chatted a bit with Jeffrey Spahn, owner of – you guessed it! – Jeffrey Spahn Gallery. Our secret is that whether we want a quiet accent piece or a powerful centerpiece, we go to Jeffrey, whose collection of ceramics is both immaculate and encyclopedic. He also has a cat, Rothko, which it turns out is not like having a bull in a china shop.

Studio AHEAD: Tell us a little bit about how you came into the art world and how the gallery was founded.

Jeffrey Spahn: My background is as a professor of multicultural education at UC Berkeley. I then became an attorney who handled estate planning. I was lucky enough to handle estates of high net wealth individuals with art collections, who asked great questions – I saw a business opportunity and I never looked back.

SA: Any specific collections or pieces you've worked with in the past that were especially memorable or noteworthy?

JS: I’ve been lucky to work directly with the estates of many famous artists in the Bay Area, such as Ruth Asawa, Peter Voulkos, Claire Faulkenstein, Kay Sakamachi, Bob Stocksdale, Mildred Howard, Hing Liu, Judy Dater, and Jim Melchert, just to name a few.

SA: We notice a regional tradition runs through a lot of the pieces you sell. Can you speak more about this? We associate this tradition with Northern California, and regional art is integral to the pieces we choose in our designs (personally, we love the Peter Voulkos for sale).

JS: My inventory focuses on American, British, and Japanese post-war contemporary sculpture and design, both large-scale sculpture indoor and out, like that of Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi.

Your clients are often looking for unique design objects that add to their sense of place. Because we are based in San Francisco some of our inventory includes Northern California artists, and you have often gravitated towards the best of the best from the San Francisco Bay Area including Voulkos, Viola Frey, Asawa, Jim Melchert, Sandy Simon, Nancy Selvin, Mark Goudy, Liza Riddle, Stocksdale, James Lavera, and many more.

SA: We also discuss Japanese ceramicists often when we are at your gallery. Is there a thread you see that connects Japanese and Northern California ceramicists?

JS: Yes, the Bay Area is part of the Pacific rim and has a diverse group of people including many Japanese artists. Your design often includes a sense of wabi-sabi, organic natural elements, earthy naturalistic design. Ceramics are some of the most beautiful design objects that express these natural sensibilities.

SA: You have curated a few shows both at your gallery and elsewhere. How do you tell a story through the pieces you select? And related, how can buyers tell their stories through pieces they own?

JS: Edit, edit, edit! Storytelling is often about focusing your attention on a specific moment in time or a specific idea. Artists are very clear when they make or design objects, so just listen, and don’t mess it up! I try very hard to not modify, add my spin, “bring it into today,” etc. In a show, when I am trying to tell a story the goal is to be authentic; so, if and when I’m asked by buyers and collectors, I tell them their collections should be authentic to their own values and who they are.

SA: Have you ever broken a piece?

JS: I don’t know why people often fear ceramics! Ceramics are some of the most durable art you’ll ever buy. Some of the most fragile artworks are paintings, which you can stick your finger through! Many ceramics have been fire-hardened at 2000 degrees or more and even if you break them a good restorer can put them back together. Every ancient culture throughout time is known to us through their ceramics which have survived thousands of years. One thing I encourage all collectors to do is to pick them up, to experience both the visual and tactile delight. Many of these pieces are functional, as vessels, used to serve food, display objects, flowers, and become an integral part of your life.

SA: Let us know the Instagrams of some makers in Northern California we should follow.

JS: Two artists: Liza Riddle and Mark Goudy, both ceramicists

Photos by Ekaterina Izmestieva

[franklloydwrightfan]

Water falling. #franklloydwright #architecture #architecture #fallingwater #millrunpennsylvania #laurelhighlands #pennsylvania #flwsites #unescoworldheritagesite #edgarkaufmannhouse #swimmingpools #houses sculpture #funiculatedsmog #petervoulkos (at Fallingwater) https://www.instagram.com/p/Chw1SBuunc_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mia-decorative]

Big-A, Peter Voulkos, 1990, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture

massive jar with bell-shaped body and large neck; slashes, gouges, holes and misshapen areas throughout; brown and tan glaze Big-A represents Peter Voulkos at his most physical. One of his stacks, so named because he literally stacks thrown cylinders atop one another, it is made from approximately two hundred and fifty pounds of clay. Like his plates, the stacks are thick, irregular, and visibly manipulated; here Voulkos claws through the leather-hard clay to create vertical and diagonal lines from top to bottom. The massive walls give the stacks more stability to survive the long days of high temperatures in the wood fired tunnel kiln (anagama in Japanese), where they emerge with their distinctive ash-fired glaze. Voulkos was introduced to wood-firing in 1978, when Peter Callas, a young artist who had studied the ancient technique in Japan, approached him about a collaboration, sensing that Voulkos's rugged forms were well-suited to earthy ash-fired glazes. After experiencing the resulting serendipity of the process--moderated by Callas's knowledge about placement and firing--Voulkos preferred the wood-fire technique for his later works. Size: 34 x 18 x 19 in. (86.4 x 45.7 x 48.3 cm) Medium: Wood-fired stoneware

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/52026/

[eatshapes]

Peter Voulkos (american 1924-2002)

[aic-american]

Vase, Peter Voulkos, 1954, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Swartchild Jr. Size: 22 × 16.8 × 3.8 cm (8 5/8 × 6 5/8 × 1 1/2 in.) Medium: Stoneware

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/47713/

[burninginwaterart]

The inaugural exhibition of our new gallery at 515 West 29th St. in New York features ceramics and monumental bronze sculptures by Peter Voulkos. Organized in collaboration with the Voulkos estate and Artworks Foundry, “Peter Voulkos: Stacks (1969 - 2001)” will be on view through September 21. Peter Voulkos, Mimbres, 2000, bronze. #petervoulkos #voulkos #ceramics #bronze #sculpture #nyc #gallery #burninginwaterart #petervoulkosstacks (at Burning in Water Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0bodVHHWhh/?igshid=7iyf04je2x5w

[worldfoodbooks]

BACK IN THE BOOKSHOP: PETER VOULKOS "Retrospective" (1995) - Published in conjunction with the 1995 touring Japanese Museum retrospective of work by the pioneering late artist/ceramicist Peter Voulkos, this is the beautifully designed and printed first-edition Japanese catalogue from the Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo (Jan 2 – Feb 20, 1995) and The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. (Feb 28 – April 2, 1995), which comes housed in an elegant printed cardboard slipcase. A very rare volume, and in our opinion the most stunning of books on the work of Peter Voulkos. Profusely illustrated with wonderful colour photo documentation of his many works, accompanied by an essay by Rose Slivka. - Peter Voulkos (1924 – 2002) was an American artist of Greek descent. After teaching a ceramics course at Black Mountain College in the summer of 1953, Voulkos founded the Ceramic Center at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (1954), which gave birth to the West Coast Abstract Expressionist ceramics movement. He is known for his gestural sculptural objects, which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic crafts and fine art. While his early work was fired in electric and gas kilns, later in his career he primarily fired in the anagama kiln of Peter Callas, who had helped to introduce Japanese wood firing aesthetics in the United States. Voulkos became a highly influential educator at UC Berkeley from 1959, while continuing a vital career that included work in bronze sculpture and wood-fired stoneware. - One copy in the bookshop and via our website. - #worldfoodbooks #petervoulkos (at WORLD FOOD BOOKS)

[mariodelopez]

Bonham’s NYC Modern Decorative Art + Design Catalogue Highlights Auction Day December 13, 2019 New York City Sharing some of the great pieces that I got to photograph for this auction. The team at Bonhams NY- @dan_tolson put a great deal of effort in curating these amazing pieces. #wendellcastle #bestride #mereterasmussen #twistedforms #petervoulkos #charger #sophieryder #ladyhareondog #artanddesign #moderndesign #contemporaryart #ceramics #sculptures #furniture (at Bonhams) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6BGQiGAS3R/?igshid=mq6t4n8m6jvw

[petersheltonblog]

Posting a few great images of this dynamic geologic force of nature. And Pete was such a drama queen! Peter Voulkos was the titanic jefe behind moving American clay from pottery to full blown sculpture along with his students John Mason, Billy Al Bengston, Ken Price, Paul Soldner, Ron Nagle, Stephen DeStaebler and others. #petervoulkos #sculpture #sculptor #contemporaryart #contemporarysculptor #contemporarysculpture #petersheltonsculptor #petersheltonsculpture @petersheltonsculptor @petershelton.com @petershelton @sheltonbigart #petershelton #bigart #sheltonbigart (at Berkeley, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BnxDtldpu/?igshid=1fmzg6ql3u1rf

[iveseenthat]

#PaulSouldner, #PeterVoulkos, #JohnMason at Paul Soldner's MFA Exhibition in Los Angeles #1956 - (I'll take the 3 pots on the far right please.) - from #MondoBlogo #2012 - #CaliforniaCrazy

[elsenornewyork]

I wish I was in the city for this one! Peter and Ann, Aris's and Ben's parents of the Berkeley warehouse (private indoor skatepark) were huge supporters of skateboarding, skateboarders, graffiti and all of us around, thank you🙏🏽 Aris and Ben Sanchez were brothers and they took us all in, we would skate Embarcadero in the day and skate the warehouse at night and when it rained. We would play epic hide and seek games, hiding around expensive pieces of art in progress 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️ #petervoulkos #annvoulkos #arisvoulkos #bensanchez https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz3oFn3F8al/?igshid=j9tt3klrh6yo

[mia-decorative]

Teapot, Peter Voulkos, 1950-1954, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Decorative Arts, Textiles and Sculpture

Voulkos teapot; beige stoneware; removable lid; mottled gray glaze with brown abstract designs on sides; pulled handle Size: 10 x 8 1/8 x 6 3/8 in. (25.4 x 20.64 x 16.19 cm) Medium: Glazed stoneware

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2906/

[backtomod]

For just $20.00 Offering a beautiful hand made coffee mug by noted Pacific NW ceramists Nan and Jim McKinnell. Each mug measures 4" tall by 3.25" wide. There are 4 mugs available. Very good vintage condition- no chips or cracks that I can see. More about Jim and Nan McKinnell: https://craftcouncil.org/post/remembering-nan-bangs-mckinnell

[aic-american]

Vase, Peter Voulkos, 1954, Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Swartchild Jr. Size: 22 × 16.8 × 3.8 cm (8 5/8 × 6 5/8 × 1 1/2 in.) Medium: Stoneware

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/47713/

[burninginwaterart]

The New York Times’ “New York Galleries: What to See Right Now” section features our current exhibition of work by Peter Voulkos. “Stacks: 1969-2001” is on view through September 21 at 515 West 29th St in New York City. NYT review by Martha Schwendener. #petervoulkos #voulkos #bronze #ceramic #sculpture #burninginwaterart #nyt @nytimesopinionart #nyc #gallery #stacks (at Burning in Water Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2SYYOCHd_s/?igshid=aqqtos341xnp