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Stan Bitters Signed Large Mid-Century Modern California Pottery Sculpture Bowl
About the Item
A wonderful, unique, beautifully and sumptuously glazed sculptural bowl by American California studio pottery master potter/ceramists Stan Bitters whose work was instrumental in shaping the organic modernist movement in the 1960s. This a rare early work of his.
Bitters received his Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1958.
He also studied under Peter Voulkos at Otis College. After graduating, he worked for Hans Sumpf as the company's resident artist. During this time he created architectural murals, tiles, birdhouses, planters, and sculptural objects – designs that would earn him recognition later on as a pioneer of the organic modernist craft movement - many still some of the most iconic designs today.
Stan Bitters' work was featured as a part of the prestigious California Design series of exhibitions and annuals that chronicled art and design in California from 1954-1976. His works were also featured as part of a group show entitled The Golden State of Craft 1960-1985 at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA. This show was part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, an unprecedented collaboration of more than 60 museums and other cultural institutions in Southern California, celebrating the birth of the Los Angeles art scene. Bitters' work was also exhibited at Heath Ceramics' Boiler Room in San Francisco in 2014. Today his work can be found in numerous international collections and museums.
The bowl is signed by Bitters on the base as well as a hand imprint (we have not seen this before on any of his pieces).
Again a very rare and scarce work (we have not come across another like it). Relatively large and solid/heavy. Quite something to hold and explore. Would be a great addition to any collectors of Bitter's work or Mid-Century Modern pottery or an eye-catching stand-alone accent piece in about any setting.
Dimensions: 7.25" high, 11.5" wide, 11" deep.
- Creator:Stan Bitters (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)Width: 11.5 in (29.21 cm)Depth: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Mid-20th Century
- Condition:In very good vintage condition with no discernable flaws, cracks, chips, etc... (please see photos). Unique and quite special overall.
- Seller Location:Studio City, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2254335018252
Stan Bitters
An icon of modernist ceramics since the 1960s, Stan Bitters constructed rough assemblages of clay slabs and spoked wheels into massive murals and tall totems, upsizing his medium to an architectural scale.
Like Toshiko Takaezu, Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner and others, Bitters was part of a small group of American artists during the mid-20th-century who embraced imperfection in their pottery.
Working in ceramics, a material that during the last 100 years was relegated to the supposedly lesser artistic realm of craft, Bitters and these other artists made bold, chunky pieces that served as a counterpoint to the smooth lines and overall slickness of modern and postmodern movements like Bauhaus, constructivism, minimalism, Op art and Pop art.
Hailing from Fresno, California, the self-proclaimed “old hippie” Bitters earned his bachelor’s degree in painting from UCLA. He also studied at what became Otis College in Los Angeles under Voulkos — the bad boy of American ceramics.
Voulkos almost single-handedly spawned what came to be known as the California Clay Movement and flouted pottery’s approved techniques. He transformed clay into a vibrant, highly expressive artistic medium, and Bitters’ funky, fractured style certainly shows it.
Bitters later became associated with organic modernism and created ceramics for Hans Sumpf, a maker of adobe bricks and furniture in Madera.
“Known for his Abstract Expressionist style, Bitters is a steadfast champion of environmental ceramics — the melding of natural, organic clay forms, sculptures and architectural elements into urban spaces to complement, transform and elevate their surroundings,” says Greg Nielson, of Dwell Floor Five, in Studio City, California.
With their sputtery glazes and graffiti-esque glyphs, Bitters’s works exude raw, countercultural energy.
Find Stan Bitters decorative objects, garden ornaments, planters and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
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- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Studio City, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
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