John Mason California Studio Stoneware Pottery Vase

View Similar Items

Paul Soldner Stoneware California Studio Pottery Vase

Cubist-Style Studio Stoneware Pottery Vase after Pablo Picasso

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase

Vivika Otto Heino California Studio Pottery Small Weed Pot Bud Vase

Vintage Figural Studio Stoneware Vase / Candleholder

Frank Matranga Stoneware Vase California Studio Pottery c.1970s

California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase by Barbara Moorefield

Large J. Mason Floor Vase / Vessel, Manner of John Mason

American Midcentury Studio Pottery Vase, Signed

1970s Studio Stoneware Botanical Vase Signed Pollack

1982 Studio Stoneware Blue Vase California Art Pottery

About the Item

California studio pottery vase created by John Mason of Carlsbad, California. Vase form measures 10" by 5.5". Signed Mason on the bottom. In very good vintage condition. John Mason is shown in my last photo in his downtown L.A. studio in 1997. Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times. The following was taken from the Frank Lloyd Gallery, with thanks: John Mason (1927-2019) was an important figure in American sculpture, particularly that of the West Coast. Born in Madrid, Nebraska in 1927 and raised in Fallon, Nevada, Mason moved to Los Angeles in 1949 at the age of 22. He first enrolled at the Los Angeles Art Institute (now Otis) and then studied with Susan Peterson at the Chouinard Art Institute. In 1954, the Los Angeles Art Institute hired Peter Voulkos to head the ceramics department. Mason worked with Voulkos and others in the ceramics studios at night, and worked independently during the day. By 1957, Mason and Voulkos moved to a new studio that they shared on Glendale Blvd. During the period of 1957-1965, Mason focused on exploring the physical properties of clay—its possibilities as well as its limitations as a medium. He constantly experimented with his material’s plasticity, pushing clay to its technical limits and developing innovative firing techniques. The artist then diversified his output, producing tall vertical sculptures, huge wall reliefs, cross forms and geometric shapes. Symmetry, rotation, mass, and the integration of color and form came to characterize his work, and are some of the sustaining concepts of his career. Although Mason does not consciously draw on identifiable sources in his work, he does recall an interest in primitive art, a fact which is manifested in the mysterious and totemic quality of many of his pieces. Mason's work over the past six decades presents one of the most compelling arguments for abstract sculpture. His line of thought and consistency of execution are the hallmarks of a true artist, motivated by his desire to push his creative explorations even further. Suzanne Muchnic, writing for ArtNews, describes his position in the art world thusly; “A major figure in ceramic sculpture, Mason emerged in the mid-1950s as one of the leaders of a revolution that transformed clay from a craft to a fine art medium… In his latest work, Mason has proved himself a master builder and sculptor who knows how to get the most out of a relatively simple three dimensional form.” John Mason’s innovations in the field of ceramic sculpture opened the art world’s eyes to the possibilities of the medium. His process-based method of working emphasized the clay and what he could do with it, as he pushed to material well past conventional limits and tradition. John Coplans illustrates this point, writing, “he is not only capable of endowing his massive images with a rich complexity of associative values, but in helping to free ceramics from its long tradition of vessel form and intimate scale he has persuasively demonstrated the flexibility of a hitherto limited material.” Since the late 1950s, when he exhibited at the legendary Ferus Gallery, Mason has had one-man shows at the Pasadena Museum of Art (1960 and 1974), the Los Angeles County Museum (1966), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1978), and the Hudson River Museum (1978), among others. His work is represented in numerous major museum collections, including the Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Creator:
John Mason (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Diameter: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Stoneware
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1980-1989
Date of Manufacture:
1970s
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Very good vintage condition.
Seller Location:
Palm Springs, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1046620945502

More From This Seller

View All

Paul Soldner Stoneware California Studio 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....

Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Bottles

Materials

Stoneware

Paul Soldner Stoneware California Studio Pottery Vase

$3,800 Sale Price

20% Off

Vivika Otto Heino California Studio Pottery Small Weed Pot Bud Vase

By Otto and Vivika Heino

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Small stoneware weed bud vase created by Vivika and Otto Heino of Ojai, California. Vase measures 3.24" by 2.5" and is signed Vivika and Otto beneath. In very good vintage condition.

Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware

Vivika Otto Heino California Studio Pottery Small Weed Pot Bud Vase

$395 Sale Price

41% Off

Kazuko Matthews Post Modern California Studio Stoneware Teapot with Lid

By Kazuko Matthews

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Flattened stoneware Post Modernist teapot with lid by California architectural artist Kazuko Matthews. Teapot measures 16" by 12" by 4" and is signed ...

Category

Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware

Kazuko Matthews Post Modern California Studio Stoneware Teapot with Lid

$825 Sale Price

50% Off

Rimas VisGirda California Studio Stoneware Funk Pottery Cup Mug

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Large scale Funk pottery coffee mug cup created by Lithuanian-American sculptor and ceramist Rimas VisGirda. Cup measures 4" by 8" by 4 3/4" and is signed...

Category

1990s American Post-Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware

Rimas VisGirda California Studio Stoneware Funk Pottery Cup Mug

$316 Sale Price

20% Off

1970s California Studio Milk Stoneware Pitcher Vase

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Figural pitcher or vase created by a California studio potter with the initials SP. There are several ceramists with these initials, but I don't think this piece is from one of them...

Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vases

Materials

Ceramic

1970s California Studio Milk Stoneware Pitcher Vase

$280 Sale Price

20% Off

William Shinn Lavender California Studio Pottery Extruded Ikebana Vase 1980s

By William Shinn

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Hand formed and extruded lavender ikebana vase created by William Shinn of Santa Maria, California. Vase measures 6 1/2" x 7 3/4" x 5 1/4" and is signed Shinn on verso. In very goo...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware, Ceramic

William Shinn Lavender California Studio Pottery Extruded Ikebana Vase 1980s

$550 Sale Price

20% Off

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware

Cubist-Style Studio Stoneware Pottery Vase after Pablo Picasso

$1,600

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase

Located in San Diego, CA

A very nice MCM California studio pottery stoneware vase with brown and green earth tones and pinched sides, circa 1966. The vessel is in very good vint...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases

Materials

Pottery

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase

$325

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase

Located in San Diego, CA

A very nice MCM California studio pottery stoneware vase with brown earth tones, circa 1970s. The vessel is in very good vintage condition with no chips...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Vases

Materials

Pottery

MCM California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase

$375

Vintage Figural Studio Stoneware Vase / Candleholder

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Impressive, dense figural ceramic vase / candleholder. Marvelous textural elements: an unglazed slab with a hole for a candle or flowers was applied to a thick, round base with a spi...

Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Ceramics

Materials

Stoneware

Vintage Figural Studio Stoneware Vase / Candleholder

$800

Frank Matranga Stoneware Vase California Studio Pottery c.1970s

By Frank Matranga

Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA

A rare stoneware vessel with an abstract modernist partially glazed decorative vase made by Frank Matranga of Manhattan Beach, California. The vase is signed on the bottom, "Matranga."

Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Vases

Materials

Stoneware

Frank Matranga Stoneware Vase California Studio Pottery c.1970s

$575

California Studio Pottery Stoneware Vase by Barbara Moorefield

By Barbara Moorefield

Located in San Diego, CA

A very nice California studio pottery stoneware vase with beautiful tan and brown earth tones by San Diego artist Barbara Moorehead, circa 1970s. The vessel is in good vintage condit...

Category