Collection Highlights
Historical Ceramics: Saxe and Antemann
The Kamm Teapot Collection contains numerous contemporary works in clay that look to historical ceramic traditions for inspiration. These designs might contain reflections of ancient Chinese pottery or perhaps eighteenth century French porcelain, but they also wholeheartedly exhibit their creator’s “own twists and personality.”[i] Cindy
Funk Art: Arneson and Gilhooly
“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
Yixing: Gulotta and Xia
Yixing is a city, a type of clay, and a style of pottery.[i] The city of Yixing is located on the Yangtze River Delta in the Jiangsu providence of China. It is considered the country’s pottery capitol as well as the birthplace of the teapot.[ii]
Trompe l’oeil: Levine, Shaw, Leon
Trompe l’oeil: A French term that means to “deceive the eye.” Artists utilize this illusionistic technique to mislead the senses and effectively “blur the boundaries between real and represented.”[i] Trompe l’oeil has a long rich history. Evidence of this technique can be found among the
Pop Art: Lichtenstein, Haring, Volkov
“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
Bernard Leach Ceramic Teapot
“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,
Richard Marquis Teapot Goblet
“While Dale Chihuly is the tide that raised all boats, Marquis is the craft intelligence that made the vessels seaworthy.”[i] – Regina Hackett, Seattle Post, 2001 Richard Marquis has been an instrumental force in the studio glass movement in America. His work, which is both “playful
David Sengel Thorn Teapot
“Just realizing that I am making work that other people respond to is very motivational.”[i] -David Sengel David Sengel is an expert in manipulating and embracing the innate qualities of his material of choice, wood. Within the Kamm Teapot Collection there are three Sengel
Zaha Hadid “Tea & Coffee Piazza”
“As a woman, I’m expected to want everything to be nice and to be nice myself. A very English thing. I don’t design nice buildings – I don’t like them…”[i] -Zaha Hadid Considered a superstar of the architectural world, Zaha Hadid is internationally recognized for
Karl Wirsum Sculpture
Karl Wirsum’s sculpture, paintings, and drawings are imaginative, colorful, humorous, and at times, disturbing and “cheerfully grotesque.”[i] Utilizing a range of materials and techniques, he creates works that exude great energy and stimulate one’s imagination. Wirsum first made a name for himself as a member
Grete Marks Silver-plated Teapot
“I am what time, circumstance, and history have made me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.” –James A. Baldwin The ceramicist, designer, and painter Margarete “Grete” Marks experienced many obstacles over the course of her career.[i] She
Harry Bertoia Silver Teapot
“I am rather silent, resolute, and industrious. I respect and admire persons of probity and morality, moderation and temperance. I can use any tool or machinery with dexterity…”[i]– Harry Bertoia, 1937 What comes to mind when you hear the name Harry Bertoia? [ii] Most people
