Alison Brannen

"Midnight Over Mountains", ceramic sculpture, porcelain shards, blue, copper

2020

Midnight Blue, a ceramic relief sculpture of high-fired porcelain pigmented with oxides, paint and epoxy, is a recent work by New York artist Harold Wortsman. This sculpture is ready to be mounted to the wall. Note the artist's hand in the mark-making – cuts and radiating lines, the suggestion of maps, geometry and counting systems – it is characteristic of Wortsman's practice. Warm, contemporary, uniquely crafted, yet speaks to ancient, tribal traditions of art-making that cross cultures and histories. Highly attuned to the art of Africa, the Middle East, India and Asia, his forms are organic abstracts with masculine and feminine attributes that resonate together as a pleasing enigma. They make sense immediately, yet never give up all their secrets. Midnight Blue was recently exhibited at Harold Wortsman: Time and Space, Orange Art Foundation, New York City, February 2022. From Harold Wortsman – "With sculpture, my material of choice is high-fired clay. Pieces are first low-fired in an electric kiln. I do not use glazes. Instead, I use oxides applied to the bisqued (low-fired) clay. As with a tattoo, oxides permit the surface underneath to breathe—like naked skin. The work is then high-fired in a gas kiln with double reduction to cone 10. The final temperature is 2,300 degrees F. At a certain point, oxygen intake is reduced to the kiln. Because the fire has reached a critical mass, it needs oxygen and chemically takes it from the clay and the oxides painted on. Like a jazz improvisation, each kiln load comes out slightly different." From Jonathan Goodman – "Wortsman has increasingly moved into his own – a place in which the relations between the abstractions of volume and the intimations of very old culture are merged in a way that is new." – Essay, "Harold Wortsman: Time and Space", Orange Art Foundation, February 2022, New York City. Harold Wortsman is a sculptor and printmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. He “creates forms that bring to mind archaic cult objects and exude a quiet concentrated strength.” (Argauer Zeitung, Switzerland). His work, an edgy mix of freedom and clarity, can be found in public and private collections in the US, including The Library of Congress, Yale University, The New York Public Library Print Collection, The New York Historical Society, Smith College, Indiana University’s Lilly Library, Brandeis University, The Newark Public Library Special Collections Division, and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum Print Archive. Also in private and public collections in Europe, including the Municipal Collection of the City of Brugg, Switzerland. Harold studied at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, with sculptor George Spaventa...

"Blue Lagoon" is a saggar-fired porcelain vase by Alison Brannen. It measures 14" high by 9" wide. Inspired by her journeys sailing the Atlantic Ocean, Alison can’t get enough wind a...

"Magma" is a saggar-fired porcelain vessel by Alison Brannen. It measures 16" high by 13" wide. It's an exceptional piece, leaning into the "jolie laide" territory – compelling despi...

"Spotted Blue Moon Jar" is a saggar-fired porcelain vessel by Alison Brannen. It measures 18" high by 15" wide. Inspired by her journeys sailing the Atl...

"Ocean Canyon" is a saggar-fired porcelain sculpture by Alison Brannen. It measures 13" high by 9" wide by 9" deep, however the sculpture can be arrange...

FOR THE OLD ONES, a ceramic sculpture of high-fired clay pigmented with oxides, sitting on a slab of limestone. It is a recent work by artist Harold Wortsman. Note the blending of volumetric and organic form in this work, the mark-making and perforations on the surface, the striking colors of black and copper in variable stripes – it is characteristic of his practice – warm, contemporary, uniquely crafted, yet speaks to ancient, primitive traditions of art-making that cross cultures and histories. Highly attuned to the art of Africa, the Middle East, India and Asia, his forms are organic abstracts with masculine and feminine attributes that resonate together as a pleasing enigma. They make sense immediately, yet never give up all their secrets. From Harold Wortsman – "With sculpture, my material of choice is high-fired clay. Pieces are first low-fired in an electric kiln. I do not use glazes. Instead, I use oxides applied to the bisqued (low-fired) clay. As with a tattoo, oxides permit the surface underneath to breathe—like naked skin. The work is then high-fired in a gas kiln with double reduction to cone 10. The final temperature is 2,300 degrees F. At a certain point, oxygen intake is reduced to the kiln. Because the fire has reached a critical mass, it needs oxygen and chemically takes it from the clay and the oxides painted on. Like a jazz improvisation, each kiln load comes out slightly different." From Jonathan Goodman, Poet & Art Critic – "Wortsman re-examines ancient and modern traditions in light of what it means to make art." – Tussle Magazine, July 2019. Harold Wortsman is a sculptor and printmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. He “creates forms that bring to mind archaic cult objects and exude a quiet concentrated strength.” (Argauer Zeitung, Switzerland). His work, an edgy mix of freedom and clarity, can be found in public and private collections in the US, including The Library of Congress, Yale University, The New York Public Library Print Collection, The New York Historical Society, Smith College, Indiana University’s Lilly Library, Brandeis University, The Newark Public Library Special Collections Division, and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum Print Archive. Also in private and public collections in Europe, including the Municipal Collection of the City of Brugg, Switzerland. Harold studied at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, with sculptor George Spaventa...

Artist : Stephanie Lanter Title : "Attached" Materials : Porcelain, glaze, stoneware, wire, thread Date : 2020 Dimensions : 20" x 9" x 8.5" Description : Manually slip-trailed sculpture...

Yellow, blue and white round abstract ceramic sculpture titled "Gemini Headspace" by Lauren Skelly Bailey. Glazed porcelain with cobalt. Size: 7 x...

“Untitled” 2018-2019 Porcelain, Paper Clay Cone 6 Size: 16 in. x 30 in. Danielle Weigandt explores the construct of events in time and their role in our lives. Time cannot be seen, ...

“Untitled” 2018-2019 Porcelain, Paper Clay Cone 6 Size: 10 in. x 10 in. Danielle Weigandt explores the construct of events in time and their role in our lives. Time cannot be seen, ...

Due to the current situation related to the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, our gallery will donate 10% of our commission from this sale to the Kansas City Artists Coalition, which has b...

Due to the current situation related to the Novel Coronavirus pandemic, our gallery will donate 10% of our commission from this sale to the Kansas City Artists Coalition, which has b...