Abstract ceramics in the USA

Exploring the abstract.

Having abandoned the certainty of a known form and its expected details, the biggest challenge when engaging in abstract designs is being able to assemble a cohesive whole from the choices of shapes, colours and spaces. The liberation from not having to exactly interpret a defined reality unleashes a spontaneity and improvisation that can produce engrossing results. From the manipulation of shapes and the breaking down of a structured reality into more simplistic details, the suspension of the order of symmetry for more asymmetrical forms to the creation of movement and unpredictability with the flow of the shapes, lines, textures and colours. The resulting tension delivers a heightened dynamic from a form striving for balance. Reflecting the fluid reality of the subconscious with its mystique and temporal, less fixated presence, the abstract can arouse an array of perceptions. Abstract art is interactive in the sense that it invites the viewer to participate with their interpretations of the sculptural works.

Featured here are five contemporary American ceramic artists who use abstract concepts in their decorative styles. I feel they present a skilful and intuitive representation of this deep and fascinating medium.

Michael Gustavson

“Clay has been an art form that man has used since the beginning of time. Every culture that has been discovered through archaeology has a historic record of uses for clay. From utilitarian to sculpture this ancient historical record has always intrigued me. Since my discovery of clay I have been learning and exploring the many different qualities of clay.

As you look at my works you will note that I use many different techniques to manipulate clay to express my personal aesthetic views. Clay itself has a lot to do with my aesthetic viewpoint.

The last 38 years I have used the forms that I create, whether vessel or wall slabs, as a vehicle to express myself as a painter using glaze as my paint. My most recent works are a series of large hand built tectonic forms. With these forms I will continue to explore and express the language of clay. “

” As is the case with most artists, the analyzing and verbalizing of their works is really not the statement, the statement truly is the work itself.”

website HERE

Blue Rythym – Michael Gustavson

Day and Night – Michael Gustavson

Masquerade – Michael Gustavson

Solar Flare – Michael Gustavson

Caribbean Blue- – Michael Gustavson

74″ Height

Evening Walk – Michael Gustavson

Beautiful Thought – Michael Gustavson

Artifact – Michael Gustavson

Abstract vase Ancient Journey – Michael Gustavson

Square Dance - Michael Gustavson

Solitary Dancer - Michael Gustavson

South Window – Michael Gustavson

Light Sculpture – Michael Gustavson

Glazing a vessel – Michael Gustavson

Epiphany – Michael Gustavson

Sea Creature – Michael Gustavson

Eloquence – Michael Gustavson

Earth Watch T en – Michael Gustavson

Crescent Tower - Michael Gustavson

Chromatic Afternoon – Michael Gustavson

Asia – Michael Gustavson

Eric Knoche

” My current work ranges from small puzzles to human size outdoor works to manipulatable sculpture to large installations with many pieces. I make things I am curious to see. The work tends to evolve out of itself and I often feel like I am an archaeologist excavating my own subconscious. Here are some things that I think influence my work: male and female figures, bones, machine parts, houses, clouds, landscapes, algebra equations, micro-facial movements, fact and truth, alphabets and foreign languages, spacial relationships, tools I don’t know how to use, the distortional nature of memory, the limits of ocular perception, plants, neutron stars, dancing, running water, and songbirds. ”

” I think some physical forms and arrangements of space are simply pleasing to humans at a sort of meta-level. ”

website HERE

Raku vessel – Erich Knoche

photo-Tim-Barnwell

Vessel Eric Knoche

photo-Tim-Barnwell

Tuning Fork - Eric Knoche

2012

Eric Knoche

photo by Matt Rose

Vessel – Eric Knoche

Switcharoo - Eric Knoche

Red Spiral – Wood fired stoneware by Eric Knoche

…

Sheryl Zacharia

” As a child I was captivated by old things. I realize now much of that had to do with their handmade quality. My clay work is influenced by the material itself, its history and the intimacy of its interaction with the hand and touch. This is why my surfaces reveal the process; and the process becomes the surface.
The sculptural forms focusing on shape and surface are inspired by my love for ancient relics and modern abstract paintings. The textured and stamped areas help the eyes travel deliberately around the forms. The combination of raw and refined surfaces echoes the inevitable marriage of new and old. “

” Pattern and form are rhythm, palette is harmony, lines and shapes are lyrical. I’m striving to make a visual poetry. ”

website -HERE

Dancers – Sheryl Zacharia

18x19x5

( Tansey Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe ) -sold

Sky Dwelling – Sheryl Zacharia

Woman in the window - Sheryl Zacharia

Jane Sauer Gallery – sold

Black Sail Black Moon - Sheryl Zacharia

18 x 13 x 4

Summer Fling - Sheryl Zacharia

18″ x 22″ x 5″

In a permanent collection at Racine Art Museum, Racine Wisconsin

Autumn Winds – Sheryl Zacharia

( Tansey Contemporary Gallery, Santa Fe )

Egghead Face – Sheryl Zacharia

Eye of the Storm – Sheryl Zacharia

Devilish – Sheryl Zacharia

Sun Travels – Sheryl Zacharia

Squared Off - Sheryl Zacharia

Fantasy Foliage – Sheryl Zacharia

Liquid Woman – Sheryl Zacharia

17″ x 8″ x 6″

Sheryl Zacharia, NY-USA

Asymmetrical bottles -Sheryl Zacharia

…

Wayne Higby

The pieces below were displayed at the Renwick Gallery retrospective “Infinite Place: The Ceramic Art of Wayne Higby” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Wayne Higby’s vision of the American landscape appears in ceramic forms ranging from vessels and sculptures to architectural installations.

Large hand-thrown raku-fired glazed ceramic footed vessel, “Green Water Afternoon”

Wayne Higby - 12″ x 21″ x 14 1/2″

Stone Gate - Wayne Higby

2007 – photo by Brian Oglesbee

( SmithsonisnAmericanArtMuseum )

Wayne Higby - Yellow Rock Falls

1975

Photo – JohnCarlano

Untitled Bowl – Wayne Higby

( franklloyd.com )

Wayne Higby with Pictorial Lake

1986 – glazed earthenware, raku-fired
collection of Sarah H. Morabito
photo by Brian Oglesbee

( Smithsonisn American Art Museum )

Green Terrace Canyon – Wayne Higby

From the exhibition A Vision of the American Landscape in Ceramic Forms and Porcelain Jars.

1975 – glazed earthenware, raku-fired
collection of Marlin and Regina Miller
photo by John Carlano

Wayne Higby Raku Bowl

Wayne Higby Ceramic Boxes with lids

Wayne Higby–Triangle Springs 1972

Lauren Mabry

” I make painterly, abstract, ceramic objects. Primarily my work communicates directly through its formal and aesthetic qualities, but it may also be understood in relationship to abstract painting, minimal work, and process art. Sometimes the surfaces look weathered and aged, but at the same time colorfully lush and wet. There is a sense of immediacy to the mark making, and at moments a quality of action. I exploit the intrinsic characteristics of ceramic materials to produce pieces with a magnetic dissonance. Ultimately, my work is a synthesis of intuitive, expressive surfaces and elemental forms. “

” The absence of representation in my work allows the marks, brush strokes and colour to communicate. I’m compelled by the scintillating, seductive energy created through formal dualities. ”

website HERE