“Funk art: the art of the absurd, the ridiculous, the exaggerated.”[i] – John Natsoulas In the 1950s and 1960s some American artists began reacting against Abstract Expressionism. They were influenced by the Beat Generation and avant-garde movements such as Dada, Surrealism, and Pop Art.[ii] With “a healthy irreverence toward societal values,” these artists favored […]
“Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.”[i] – Roy Lichtenstein Pop Art first broke onto the British art scene in the 1950s.[ii] Derived from Neo-Dada, it was the “brain-child” of a group of artists, writers, and architects who felt compelled […]
“A potter is one of the few people left who uses his natural faculties of heart, head, and hand in balance…”[i] — Bernard Leach, 1961 Bernard Howell Leach is considered the most influential potter of the twentieth century. He left an irrefutable mark with his writings, teachings, prolific work in clay, and contributions at the potteries […]
This tea set, designed by Édouard-Marcel Sandoz, is one of many tableware sets designed by popular artists for the porcelain manufacturing company Theodore Haviland, Limoges. Haviland History Theodore Haviland, Limoges was one of several porcelain manufacturing and retail companies operated by the Haviland family in the 19th and 20th centuries. The company first called Haviland […]
I remember being captivated by Ron Meyers’ cups, platters, and covered jars as a child. The imagery that danced across the surface of his forms stirred my imagination. Initially his fish, rabbits, birds, and gestural human faces grabbed my attention, but then the forms themselves, alive and expressive, made an impact. Over the past fifty […]
This stoneware teapot is attributed to Sowter & Company, an early 19th century pottery manufacturer. Sowter & Company—also called Mexborough Old Pottery—was one of several pottery companies in the Don Valley area of Yorkshire, England at the time. Other contemporaneous Yorkshire potters include Rock Pottery (also called Mexborough Pottery or Mexbro’ Pottery), Swinton Pottery, Don […]
These two works of art were both acquired from the estate of the influential art critic, historian, and collector Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994). Geldzahler began his career as a student in the Harvard Fine Arts Department, but left before completing his doctorate to become a curatorial assistant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in […]
This teapot is an example of Yixing (also spelled YiXing) pottery, from the Yixing region in the Jiangsu province of China. This particular teapot, made of dark teal, unglazed stoneware in the form of a melting candle, won a prize at the International Ceramics Competition in Mino, Japan. It is stamped with a maker’s mark […]
