American Clay Artists: Philadelphia ‘83

The concept of assembling an exhibition of American artists working in clay is not, in itself, unique; the concept of a non-profit educational studio sponsoring a national invitational to be held in three closely situated gallery locations is, however, unusual. American Clay Artists: Philadelphia ’83 is exhibited throughout Old City, an area in Philadelphia where The Clay Studio is located and provides a creative connective link with its neighborhood galleries – Rosenfeld, Helen Drutt and Marian Locks East – through this event.

The initial concern was to focus attention on the activities of The Clay Studio, a committed group of individuals who were dedicated to the advancement of modern ceramics through study, work and exhibition. This was achieved by organizing a national exhibition for Philadelphia. Members of The Clay Studio submitted names to the selection committee – Jill Bonovitz, Ann Bora and Ken Vavrek – who drew up the initial list of sixty artists. Fifty-six responded to the invitation and their works reflect the range in attitudes and diversity of style that have dominated late twentieth-century ceramic art.

In addition, American Clay Artists: Philadelphia ’83 recognizes the achievements of Rudolf Staffel, a central figure in modern ceramics whose professional career has flourished in Philadelphia. His interest in the translucent quality of porcelain has led to the creation of lyrical vessel forms with idiosyncratic gestures reminiscent of the freedom expressed by George Ohr, but even more daring in the exploration of material and form. This honor coincidentally is simultaneous with the installation of Staffel’s first architectural commission – a translucent porcelain panel in the Magee Rehabilitation Hospital lobby.

It is precisely thirty years since the first International Ceramics Symposium, held at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and the first issue of Ceramics Monthly. Eleven years have passed since the Syracuse Ceramic National Exhibitions came to an end in 1972, after forty years.

The history of ceramic exhibitions was highlighted in the 1960s by events which included Forms from the Earth, 1000 Years of Pottery in America (c. 1961), Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; Abstract Expressionist Ceramics (1966) and Funk Art (1967), both at the University of California, Berkeley; and American Studio Potters (1968), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In addition, Objects: USA, the first survey of American crafts, opened at the Smithsonian Institute in 1969 with a strong focus on clay.

During the 1970s, crafts exhibitions became too numerous to cite. Among those centering on ceramics were: 1971: Clayworks: 20 Americans, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York Contemporary Ceramic Art: Canada, U.S.A., Mexico, Japan, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan 1972: International Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Salt-Glaze Ceramics, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York A Decade of Ceramic Art: 1962-72, from the collection of Professor and Mrs. Joseph Monsen, San Francisco Museum of Art 1973: Robert Hudson / Richard Shaw, San Francisco Museum of Art Ceramics International ’73, Calgary, Canada Clay at Whitney Museum of American Art (downtown), New York 1974: The Fred and Mary Marer Collection, Scripps College, Claremont, California 1976: Contemporary Clay: Ten Approaches, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire 1977: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, Wm. Hayes Ackland Memorial Art Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina The Ceramic Vessel as Metaphor, The Evanston Art Center, Illinois 1978: Nine West Coast Clay Sculptors, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

The chronology of exhibitions during that decade included retrospective examinations of major figures: Gertrude and Otto Natzler (1972), Robert Arneson (1974) and Peter Voulkos (1978). In 1979, the culmination of all these events was evidenced in A Century of Ceramics in the United States: 1878-1978, held at the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York, which had been historically important in its commitment to clay. This event was further enriched with an International Ceramics Symposium that drew artists, scholars, critics and administrators together. We were left with Clement Greenberg’s closing phrase from his keynote speech to go forth, for “opinion changes and achievement survives.”

In the 1980s, this exploration through exhibition continues with a list that includes The Contemporary American Potter (1980), University of Northern Iowa; American Porcelain: New Expressions in an Ancient Art (1980), Smithsonian Instutitue; The Clay Figure (1981), American Craft Museum; and Ceramic Sculpture: Six Artists (1981), Whitney Museum of American Art. Who’s Afraid of American Pottery?, an exhibition of ten American artists, opened in The Netherlands at Dienst Beeldende Kunst, Kruithuis, and travelled to Belgium in 1983, further emphasizing the importance of exhibitions in the education of the public. Marguerite Wildenhain (1980), Lucie Rie (1982), Beatrice Wood (1983), Robert Turner (1980), William Daley (1982) and Richard DeVore (1983) were among those whose works were shown in retrospective exhibitions, providing us with documentation and the opportunity to study that which has long been unavailable. During the winter of 1982, a new ceramic quarterly, American Ceramics, began publication, the first since Ceramics Monthly, joining American Craft magazine’s coverage.

Philadelphia’s cultural history includes an impressive commitment to American clay. The Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center sponsored regional exhibitions in 1967, 1970 and 1973, which focused on the ceramic arts, and scheduled the Syracuse National Ceramics Exhibition, Objects: USA. In 1980, Contemporary Ceramics: A Response to Wedgwood was opened at the museum in cooperation with the Buten Museum. Philadelphia’s list of exhibitions focusing on clay included Ten Potters, Cheltenham (1970); Seattle: USA, “Y” Arts Council (1970); Another Cup Show, Walnut Street Theatre (1973); and Soup Tureens, ’76, sponsored by the Campbell Museum. This event had its genesis in Philadelphia and will explore this theme again in 1983. Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art, 1876-1976 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art included works by ceramic artists alongside painters and sculptors. This museum was one of the first institutions to begin acquiring works in clay from living artists.

Moore College of Art’s exhibition schedule has included Teacups, Teapots, Gorillas (1970), Clay Things, East Coast Invitational (1974), Robert Arneson: Self Portraits (1979), Ruth Duckworth (1979), Robert L. Pfannebecker: A Collection of American Crafts (1980). In 1974, Philadelphia College of Art hosted the first national exhibition which included UICA ceramic art faculty. The Tyler School of Art celebrated the artistic energy of the ceramic world with Philadelphia Clay: 1981.

At a time when fusion among institutions, both public and private, and sharing of resources is basic to survival, it is appropriate for The Clay Studio to provide a public forum that enables us to examine the ceramic movement form its classical, Anglo-Japanese traditions to its more recent entrance into mainstream art. American Clay Artist: Philadelphia ’83 reinforces the notion that the categories established in art three centuries ago have been dissolved for a myriad of reasons and that the artist working in clay is a dominant force in the art of today.

Helen Williams Drutt May 21, 1983, Philadelphia