Peter Voulkos
Wood Fired Platter

About the Item

Wood Fired Platter Material: Stoneware and woodfired Year: 1989 Signed Dimensions: 3 x 22 x 22" Provenance - Charles Cowles Gallery, NYC A West Coast potter and sculptor, Peter Voulkos (1924-2002) led in the development of pottery as an art form. . With an MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts (1952), he taught at Black Mountain College (1953) where he was exposed to the avant-garde. In 1954, Voulkos moved to Los Angeles to become the chairman of a newly established ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (later renamed the Otis Art Institute) and soon assembled a remarkable group of students: Paul Soldner, Jerry Rothman, Kenneth Price, John Mason, Henry Takemoto, and others. While influencing numerous students and achieving international status, Mr. Voulkos was faculty at the University of California, Berkeley from 1959 to 1985. His work introduced the so-called Abstract Expressionist movement that turned the polite world of American ceramics upside down. Arguably the most influential potter of the 20th century and his work is in over 100 museum collections worldwide. Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio were the first resident artists at The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Peter Voulkos current has a major exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City entitled- Voulkos The Breakthrough Years October 18, 2016 to March 15, 2017

Creator:
Peter Voulkos (1924 - 2002, American)
Dimensions:
Height: 3 in (7.62 cm)Width: 22 in (55.88 cm)Depth: 22 in (55.88 cm)
Medium:
Stoneware
Movement & Style:
Abstract
Period:
1980-1989
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Kansas City, MO
Reference Number:
Seller: PVO_1803_101stDibs: LU60832684263
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Peter Voulkos

Peter Voulkos was a West Coast sculptor known for incorporating an array of modernist influences into his ceramics practice. Widely acknowledged as the progenitor of a profound transformation in American ceramics known variously as American Clay Revolution or the California Clay Movement, Voulkos is considered the seminal figure in the development of contemporary ceramic art in America.

As both a working artist and educator, Voulkos was instrumental in unleashing a transformative wave of creativity in clay. As the originating force behind a novel, uniquely American movement in ceramics, Voulkos’ legacy and present-day influence on the medium cannot be overstated.

Voulkos studied painting and printmaking under the GI Bill at Montana State College after serving as an airplane gunner in the US Army in World War II. He soon discovered a passion for sculpture, graduating with an MFA in 1952. An influential educator with a lengthy career at various institutions, he established the ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now the Otis College of Art and Design), where he taught from 1954–59, and at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught from 1959 until his retirement in 1985. He also taught at Black Mountain College and the Archie Bray Foundation.

Voulkos toured universities throughout the United States conducting live ceramic workshops to audiences until his death. Notable students of his include Paul Soldner, John Mason, Ken Price, Billy Al Bengston, Ron Nagle, Stephen de Staebler and James Melchert. Voulkos was the recipient of many awards throughout his career, including the Gold Medal at the International Exposition of Ceramics (1995, Cannes, France); the Rodin Museum Prize at the First Paris Biennale (1955, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France); a Guggenheim Fellowship (1984); a Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement (1997, College Art Association); and honorary doctorates from four American art schools.

Artworks by Voulkos have been exhibited at major institutions around the world, including at the Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY); the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY); the Museum of Art and Design (New York, NY); the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C.); the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA); the San Francisco Museum of Art (San Francisco, CA); the Seattle Art Museum (Seattle, WA); the American Craft Museum (New York, NY) and the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo, Japan).

Voulkos has artworks in in the permanent collections of many major international institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY); the Museum of Modern Art (New York, NY); the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC); the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA); the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA); the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA); and many more.

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