After studying under Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute, Denver native Paul Soldner (1921–2011) became a pottery professor there in the 1960s, when the revolutionary California Clay Movement took root.
Soldner pioneered American-style raku firing methods, experimental updates of the centuries-old Japanese process, which involve pulling red-hot sculptures out of the kiln to be bathed in smoke or dipped in cold water, resulting in beautifully frazzled glazes.
“These new firing and post-firing reduction methods often led to spontaneous, unpredictable and quite wonderful results,” says Greg Nielson, of Dwell Floor Five, in Studio City, California.
Soldner’s raku vases, for instance, with their charred surfaces, seem to smile humbly through the scars of their past adversity.
Alongside the likes of Toshiko Takaezu, Soldner innovated chunky, funky ceramics in the mid-century and beyond. He is one Voulkos student at whom enthusiasts should take a serious look, advises dealer Jayson Lawfer.
The owner of The Nevica Project, a gallery with venues in Chicago and Kansas City, Lawfer explains that Soldner “was a master of raku and was credited with bringing the historic Asian technique to the U.S.” He adds that “Soldner used simple techniques of throwing pottery on the wheel, but to make his sculptural forms more interesting, he also pressed burlap into the clay and stepped on it to give it different textures."
Find Paul Soldner pottery for sale on 1stDibs.
Bronze 'Vessel' by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Dallas, TX
Paul Soldner (April 24, 1921 – January 3, 2011) is known primarily as a ceramicist and for his pioneering work in the traditional Japanese firing technique of raku, In this rare, bea...
Bronze
Paul Soldner Abstract Expressionist Studio Ceramic Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Paul Soldner (1921-2010) abstract expressionist pottery vase. Glaze in black and brown, partly unglazed. Excellent design, mint condition. Signed Soldner on the bottom. Measures: 10" H x 8 3/4" W. Paul Soldner (1921-2011) was an American ceramic artist, noted for his experimentation with the 16th...
Clay
Paul Soldner Signed Large Modern Pottery Raku Slab Charger Wall Relief Sculpture
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
An amazing and unique piece by renowned American pottery and ceramic master Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and who later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku" - a practice of using low temperature salt firing...
Earthenware
American Raku Pottery Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Atlanta, GA
A modern pottery vessel by American potter Paul Soldner (1921-2011) circa 1960s. Paul Soldner is renowned for his dedication to develop and further Raku firing in American pottery fi...
Pottery
Paul Soldner Large Mid-Century Pottery Raku Slab Charger Wall Relief Sculpture
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
An amazing and unique piece by renowned American pottery and ceramic master Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and who later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku...
Earthenware
Paul Soldner California Studio Stoneware Pottery Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A spouted stoneware bottleneck vase with tenmoku glaze created by Paul Soldner of Claremont, California, circa 1960. Vase stands 9 1/8" in height and is signed Soldner on the bottom....
Stoneware
$9,600Sale Price|20% Off
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Paul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece, Exhibited and published in Paul Soldner "A Retrospective" 1991 Page 97, Pedestal Piece (84-49) 1984, c...
Ceramic
$7,600Sale Price|20% Off
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece Vessel 1983 marked underside 83-28-6283 Sodner attended the Los Angeles County Art Institute, and became Peter Voulkos's first student i...
Ceramic
$220Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 5.75 in W 5 in D 3 in
Pair of Mid Century 1950s Howard Pierce Ceramic Quail Bird Sculpture Figurine
Located in San Diego, CA
Iconic pair of Howard Pierce ceramic quail bird figurines/sculptures dating from the 1950s. These are an iconic design. Great color and form. The larger ...
Ceramic
$883
H 6.3 in W 5.52 in D 1.97 in
Abstract Tree Brown Ceramic Freeform circa 1970 Stoneware Pottery La Borne
Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR
Abstract ceramic form with brown pottery glaze, circa 1970. Elegant colors. Realized in La Borne. Excellent original condition. Dimension: 16 x 14 x 5 cm.
Ceramic
Alan Wallwork Studio Pottery Split Pod Sculpture
By Alan Wallwork
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A very stylish and interesting studio pottery 'split pod' form designed by Alan Wallwork (British, 1931-2019) and dating from around 1980. The heavily ma...
Stoneware
$450
H 5.91 in W 1.97 in D 1.58 in
Mexican Nativity Set Folk Art Ceramic Christmas Decoration Pottery Sculptures
By Aurelio Martinez Flores
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Folkloric ceramic nativity set decorated in Tonalá, Jalisco, México. Beautifully hand painted. Handmade in clay. Includes 14 figures. The figures are first handmade in clay and burned in a wood burned oven at low temperature, then painted with acrylic paint and decorated manually. Mexican folk art...
Ceramic
Tonala Folk Art Bird Mexican Hand Painted Colorful Pottery 1960s
By Tonala Pottery
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Tonala Folk Art Pottery Plate Hand Painted Flying Bird, Mexico, circa 1960's. Vintage Mexican Tonala hand painted pottery bird Folk Art. Flora de la Cruz ...
Ceramic
$430Sale Price|25% Off
H 15.75 in Dm 7.75 in
Midcentury Ceramic Vase West Germany Uebelacker Keramik Studio Pottery
Located in Miami, FL
This tall collectable midcentury vintage vase was produced circa 1965 by the renowned manufacturer of West German pottery - Uebelacker Keramik. The vase features stunning green, oran...
Ceramic
$4,711
H 16.54 in W 3.94 in D 3.94 in
Gilt Bronze Sculpture “the Awakening” By Paul Philippe (1870-1930)
By Paul Philippe
Located in Ixelles, BE
1. Description of the Work: The sculpture is a nude female figure, cast in bronze with a gilt or burnished (bronze) patina. It is mounted on a trapezoidal base of veined marble (...
Bronze
Tony Evans Raku Pottery Circa 1970
By Tony Evans
Located in Wheat Ridge, CO
Stunning large Tony Evans Raku pottery / vase / vessel signed and numbered "Evans 165". This is an absolutely beautiful piece made by the renowned ceramicist Tony Evans (1942-2009)...
Pottery
Ceramic Vase, Glazed Stoneware Vase, Ciboure Pottery, France, circa 1925
By Ciboure
Located in New York, NY
One of a set of beautiful ceramics from Ciboure Pottery, this piece is inspired by antiquity—evident in its form, its spare coloring, and its depiction of classical figures. Produced...
Stoneware
MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Fan Shaped Vase - Signed
Located in San Diego, CA
A very well crafted MCM California studio pottery stoneware fan shaped vase, circa 1970s. The vessel is in very good vintage condition with no chips or cracks and measures 11.25"W x ...
Stoneware
Large Ceramic Sculpture
Located in Munich, DE
Creative phantasy sculpture signed by the artist
Ceramic
$6,000
H 8.75 in W 4.25 in D 4.25 in
Ceramic Vase, Glazed Stoneware Vase, Ciboure Pottery, France, 1940s
By Ciboure
Located in New York, NY
One of a set of beautiful ceramics from Ciboure Pottery, this vase is decorated by Pedro Garcia de Diego (1904-1969)with a captivating arabesque pattern in blacks and browns on a neu...
Stoneware
Paul Soldner Decorative Colorful Midcentury Ceramic Pottery Plate Low Bowl
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
A unique and colorful piece by renowned American potter Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and later became famed for developing the technique now known a...
Earthenware
Sold
H 14.5 in W 9 in D 5 in
Paul Soldner Signed Large Raku Fired Mid-Century Modern Vessel Sculpture Vase
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
A rather unique and special piece by renowned American potter Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and later became famed for developing the technique now known as "American Raku", a practice of using low temperature salt firing...
Earthenware
Paul Soldner Large Raku Fired Ceramic Pottery Bowl
By Paul Soldner
Located in Studio City, CA
An amazing and special piece by renowned American potter Paul Soldner who in the 1950s was Peter Voulkos' first student and later became famed for developing the technique now known ...
Stoneware
Paul Soldner Raku Vessel
By Paul Soldner
Located in Winnetka, IL
This is a Paul Soldner( 1921-2011) 1970s raku vessel
Ceramic, Lucite
Untitled sculpture
By Paul Soldner
Located in Morton Grove, IL
clay and raku fired oxides One of a kind and unique size. Contemporary of Peter Voulkos, Billy Al Bengston, John Mason, Mike Frimkess, Henry Takemoto a...
Clay, Stoneware