From uw to whole foods, remembering a local ceramics artist

On View. Contemporary Art. Become a Member. About the Henry. Group Visits. Reed Collection Study Center. Things to Do Nearby. Whimsical, humorous, and one-of-a-kind, the cups in this exhibition illustrate a major shift in the art of ceramists working on the West Coast during the s and 70s.

The halls of the University of Washington's ceramics and metal arts building is abuzz with new students embarking on a new school year.

These artists struggled against having their work labeled as craft or folk art. While these works may resemble cups, complete with lip and handle, they almost defy use as functional vessels. With highly textured surfaces and bright colors, they do not fit the conventions of traditional painted cups. Small scale, everyday objects, they present powerful political and artistic statements, both through their subject matter and their provocative, erotic, or witty titles.

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The work has become much more sculptural than functional, rejecting a primary tenet of the craft label. In the early s he began to collect Northwest ceramics and ceramics produced by artists teaching at the University of Washington School of Art. An exhibition and publication of that collection by the San Francisco Museum of Art in was an important historic first for these works.

The Henry Art Gallery has had a long relationship with the ceramic medium and with these artists. In the s and 60s the Northwest Craftsmen exhibitions were presented at the Henry.