Stan Bitters Scratch Pot for Hans Sumpf
View Similar Items
Stan Bitters Scratch Pot for Hans Sumpf
About the Item
- Creator:Stan Bitters (Sculptor),Hans Sumpf (Workshop/Studio)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Diameter: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6417234325912
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.
- Peacock Chair by Hans J. Wegner for PP Møbler, in Ash PP550By PP Møbler, Hans J. WegnerLocated in San Diego, CAPeacock Chair designed by Hans J. Wegner for PP Møbler is an easy chair with a natural papercord seat. The Peacock Chair is historically anchored in the classic British Windsor Chair...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
- 4 Hans J. Wegner Cow Horn Chairs for Johannes Hansen in OakBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in San Diego, CASet of 4 Restored Oak Cow Horn chairs by Hans Wegner with new olive green leather seats. This set of Cow Horn Chairs are rarely seen and extraordinarily crafted with inlays of Braz...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Hans J. Wegner AT-312 Sculpted Teak & Oak Dining Table for Andreas TuckBy Andreas Tuck, Hans J. WegnerLocated in San Diego, CAHans Wegner AT-312 Sculpted Teak & Oak Dining for Andreas Tuck. Made in Denmark, Large draw leaf dining table. Leaves conveniently store under the table when not in use and easily p...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsOak, Teak
- Hans J. Wegner AT-303 “Sabre” Dining Table for Andreas TuckBy Hans J. Wegner, Andreas TuckLocated in San Diego, CAUniquely beautiful cross-leg dining table, designed by Hans J. Wegner for Andreas Tuck, featured in Teak, Oak & Brass, is also known as the Sabre table. W...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Hans Wegner RY-25 Rosewood Sideboard for Ry MoblerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in San Diego, CAThe rarest and most sophisticated cabinet designed by the master of Danish Modern design executed in Brazilian rosewood and white oak. This exquisite credenza sits on brushed stainle...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMetal
$11,996 Sale Price20% Off - Rare Hans J. Wegner Settee For Johannes Hansen, Model JH 555By Hans J. WegnerLocated in San Diego, CAWe are so excited to present this gorgeous rare Hans J. Wegner Settee For Johannes Hansen, Model JH 555, with slanted upholstered seat and back, on a teak base,...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Settees
MaterialsWool, Teak
$19,200 Sale Price20% Off
- Stan Bitters Large Glazed Scratch Planter for Hans Sumpf, 1960sBy Stan BittersLocated in Los Angeles, CAMid-Century Modern planter by ceramist Stan Bitters for Hans Sumpf, California 1960's. This uncommon "scratch" pattern has a glazed upper portion and exposed stoneware bottom. The pi...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Planters, Cachepots and Jardin...
MaterialsCeramic, Stoneware
$2,625 Sale Price25% Off - Stan Bitters Ceramic SculptureBy Stan BittersLocated in Los Angeles, CAAn abstract unglazed ceramic sculpture by Stan Bitters, c. 2006, USA. This piece features a ribbed green form at the top of the sculpture which ombres dow...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic, Clay, Stoneware
- Huge Stan Bitters Cactus Sculpture, USA, 2005By Stan BittersLocated in Berlin, DEOne of a kind Stan Bitters ceramic cactus leaf sculpture. Signed "Bitters 05".Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic
$34,000 Sale Price20% Off - Rare Stan Bitters Tall Abstract Environmental Ceramic Sculpture, 1970sBy Stan BittersLocated in Monrovia, CA1970s Stan Bitters RARE Abstract Environmental Ceramic Sculpture. This RARE Monumental Mid century Modern Stan Bitters Ceramic Sculpture Is A Gorgeous Vintage Piece Of The Master...Category
Late 20th Century Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsCeramic
- Stan Bitters Signed Large Mid-Century Modern Ceramic Pottery Haniwa SculptureBy Stan BittersLocated in Studio City, CAA wonderful, unique, beautifully glazed, quite rare, and special double-faced "Haniwa" pottery sculpture by American California studio pottery master ceramists Stan Bitters whose work was instrumental in shaping the organic modernist movement in the 1960s. 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 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...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics
MaterialsClay, Pottery
- David Cressey "Scratch" Stoneware Pro/Artisan Planter for Architectural PotteryBy Architectural Pottery, David CresseyLocated in Los Angeles, CAPlanter by David Cressey from the Pro/Artisan collection for Architectural Pottery. This stoneware planter has an unglazed interior as well as an unglazed natural warm brown clay ext...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
MaterialsClay, Stoneware