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, Voulkos 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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Peter Voulkos - unique Ceramic Sculptural bowl hand signed by renowned sculptor
By Peter Voulkos
Located in New York, NY
Peter Voulkos Ceramic Sculptural Dish, ca. 1985 Sculpted ceramic Hand-signed by artist, Incised signature on the base. 1.5 x 11.5 inches This charger plate by Voulkos features a Gree...
Ceramic, Glaze, Mixed Media
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
H 16.5 in W 5.5 in D 5 in
Tall Metallic Palladium Abstract Expressionist Brutalist Totem Sculpture
By Judy Engel
Located in Hudson, NY
Hand built heavily glazed solid ceramic structure by NY artist Judy Engel. Expressionist style hand built and heavily glazed in a high metallic palladium glaze. Judy's first introduction to this style was the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY. "In the 1970s, upstate school kids...
Ceramic, Glaze
$437
H 5.5 in W 8.5 in D 3 in
'O.D. 1' by Brian Bosworth, Ceramic, Underglazes, Lava Glaze
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 5.5" x 8.5" ceramic wall sculpture was created by Brian Bosworth. This is a contemporary piece that demonstrates sophisticated glazing techniques and compositional balance. The ...
Ceramic, Underglaze
$1,400
H 8 in W 8 in D 8 in
Creation Myth Ceramic Vase Sculpture, Abstract Expressionist
By Alex Hodge 1
Located in Miami Beach, FL
This vessel was built using the traditional and ancient methods of coil building. Through this meditative process, ancestral connections are drawn. The composition wraps around the f...
Porcelain, Paint
$7,500
H 71 in W 21 in D 21 in
Huge Dorothy Gillespie Colorful Abstract Expressionist Enamel Painted Sculpture
By Dorothy Gillespie
Located in Surfside, FL
Dorothy Gillespie (1920 – 2012) Ribboned Image X 2001 Metal Ribbon Sculpture, Enamel on Aluminum with colorful striped green ribbons. Dimensions...
Metal, Enamel
$875
H 6.5 in W 11 in D 6 in
Modernist Ceramic Platinum-Plated Crouching Man Sculpture by Jaru, circa 1970
By Jaru
Located in New York, NY
This Modernist ceramic sculptures depicts an abstracted and cubist human form sitting cross legged with his back bent forward and arms outstretched. The sculpture, realized by Jaru o...
Ceramic
$3,500
H 34 in W 34 in D 24 in
Danielle Bodine "Medusa Tree" Mixed Media, Abstract Free Form Signed
Located in Detroit, MI
SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Medusa Tree" is a free-flowing sculpture of cane that suggests a figure either emerging from or descending into a tangle of twisting lines. Several parts are painted red or blue or stripped that gives a contrast to the black structure and a spark of energy shooting forth. This piece seems experimental from her more conservative pieces that can be easily identified as basketry, paper forms and shaped objects. Danielle Bodine...
Mixed Media
$775
H 7.75 in W 3.25 in D 3 in
Bodies at Rest #28, Small Ceramic Abstract Sculpture, Metallic
By Paige Stewart
Located in SEATTLE, WA
Bodies at Rest #28, is a one-of-a-kind, ceramic abstract figurative sculpture by Paige Stewart in a rich, coffee-colored, metallic glaze is an abstracted figural form that captures h...
Ceramic, Glaze
Abstract Ceramic Vessel Sculpture; 'Creature Medium No. 10'
By Ak Jansen
Located in New York, NY
Ak Jansen was born in Dongen, The Netherlands, in 1988. He studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven focusing on textile design, material culture, and techniques of fabrication. He wor...
Clay, Glaze
$725
H 10 in W 6.5 in D 6.5 in
Abstract Ceramic Vessel Sculpture: 'Creature Medium No 11'
By Ak Jansen
Located in New York, NY
Ak Jansen was born in Dongen, The Netherlands, in 1988. He studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven focusing on textile design, material culture, and techniques of fabrication. He wor...
Clay, Glaze
Meeresgetier
By Melanie Sherman
Located in Kansas City, MO
Studying the history of ceramics I have been captivated by the relationship between East and West, and how they continue to influence each other, especially through the ceramic arts....
Ceramic, Glaze
$1,300
H 10.63 in W 5.91 in D 5.91 in
"Ice Vibes 2.0" Sculpture: Abstract Expressionist Porcelain, Textile, Leather
By Olga Radionova
Located in Zofingen, AG
This series of sculptures is called Emotional States. It was created in 2023 in Kyiv (Ukraine). I lived and worked all year in my hometown in the middle of a Big war. I experienced a...
Porcelain, Textile, Epoxy Resin
$3,277
H 22.84 in W 18.12 in D 1.19 in
Abstract Expressionist Ceramic Sculpture, Etruscan Inspired, 1993
Located in Cotignac, FR
Abstract Expressionist ceramic by French artist Claude Urbani. Signed to the front side and dated 93. Incised Antibes 1993 to the revers...
Clay, Terracotta, Glaze