Arnold (Arnie) Zimmerman

Teapot Abstraction

12 x 13 x 7

Arnie Zimmerman (1954-2021) was a highly acclaimed ceramic sculptor, beloved in the field. He was best known for creating ceramic sculptures that redefined ambition and scale in the field of ceramics. His work, ranging from the monumental to the miniature, from the figurative to the abstract, embodies his fearless exploration of surface, color, and form. Zimmerman's art embodies the movement of ceramics into the mainstream of contemporary sculpture through successive bodies of work exploring modernist abstraction, figural expression, and moral and philosophical themes.

Zimmerman's work are held in numerous public collections in the U.S. and abroad including: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC; Museum of Art & Design, NYC; Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; Museum of Art at RISD; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, NY; Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Portland Art Museum, OR; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.

For Zimmerman, "clay is the mother of all physical art materials. Humans used it first for utilitarian objects and to express the mysterious connections to the spirit world. They processed it with water, shaped it by hand, dried it in air and made it permanent with fire." He was a lover of history and the ways in which ceramics can provide a deep connection to humanity as a form of historical record. His lifelong commitment to clay was his continued endeavor to "walk in the truth of the infinite ways humans have used this material."

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Paul Kotula

Table Space, c. 2010

base: 1 x 24 x 26.5
ceramic plate: 2 x 14.5 x 10
wooden plate: 1 x 9 x 4.5
Ceramic cup: 3 x 4.5 x 3.5
glass cup: 3.75 x 4.5 x 3.5

Paul Kotula earned his MFA from Alfred University in 1989. In addition to his own artwork, he formed Paul Kotula Projects and has supported numerous other artists through organizing exhibitions and other work. Working with an international list of artists, he has formed over 200 solo and group exhibitions pertinent to the field of contemporary art and visual culture. In 2003, Dialogue magazine named him one of "25 People Making a Difference in the Arts in the Midwest."He is a frequent visiting artist/critic at Cranbrook Academy of Art and a former instructor at College for Creative Studies. Among his awards are two Individual Artists Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Kotula is known for hand-built or wheel-thrown stoneware functional ceramics. Signature forms include tableware, especially squared plates. Kotula's plates feature rims that are developed using a double-walled construction method, adding volume to an otherwise flattened form. Works are glazed using a minimal decorative palette of lines or shapes. Kotula's finished surfaces typically appear in a variety of earth tones, shades of black, or tints of white. He says about his own work, As a maker of useful pots, I explore the spheres in which my objects exist. As a society consumed with casualness, I remain increasingly engaged in those events in which formality is still embraced and respected. I articulate individual pots and larger environments to both question and celebrate what we have ignored and what we desire."

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Renee Reichenbach

Teapot, 2016

8 x 20 x 5.5

Renee Reichenbach (b. Jena, Germany,1956) is a celebrated international ceramic artist. She studied ceramic art in Halle when it was still a part of East Germany. The style of her exquisite and spiritual ceramics is created by her stoic manner of execution. In recent years she has been working on a series of long shapes reminiscent of fish or ships. From 1975 to 1982, Reichenbach studied and completed postgraduate work at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, specializing in ceramics under Gertraud Mohwald and Martin Wetzel. Since 1982, she has worked freelance in Halle. Since 1990 , has participated in symposia in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Macedonia. In 1997, Reichenbach held a visiting professorship at the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Artistic Ceramics, Hohr-Grenzhausen. She has conducted workshops at, among others, the Hohr-Grenzhausen School of Ceramics and the Landshut State School of Ceramic Design.

She has participated in exhibitions and residencies around the world, such as: 1999 Admission to the Academie de la Ceramique, Geneva 2001, 2006 Organization, the 2nd and 4th International Ceramics Symposium at Kunstlerhaus 188 in Halle, 2006 Gruppe 83, 2008 Artist in Residence, Seto International Ceramic&Glass Art Exchange Program, Japan, 2009 Les Printemps des Potiers in Bandol, Forum public, France, and held a teaching position at the University of Art and Design, Halle, Sculpture/Ceramics.

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Kostas Ulevicius

Running Teapot, 1991

10 x 11x 4

Kostas Ulevicius is an American-Lithuanian artist set out on a journey in search of an Ideal Face. His art belongs to far more than one country of origin, encompasses a lot more than the artistic traits of one cultural context, transcends the boundaries of one spiritual tradition. A son of a Gulag and Nazi prison survivor, Ulevicius has had the opportunity to witness through his own family history the cruelty of totalitarian regimes, the impermanence of empires and the fragility of human life. It is not surprising then that his art attempts at addressing the values that do not easily change with time and context, and above all - the harmony that emerges from silent contemplation and solitude. Born and educated in Lithuania, the country that has endured a nearly total destruction of its Jewish community by Nazis as well as the persecution of Roman Catholic Church and all other religious communities by the Soviets, Kostas Ulevicius is in constant search of his own individual form of spirituality and humanism. His art asserts the locus for such spirituality to be The Face of the Other, almost as if in accord with the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas.

Ulevicius was featured in The Clay Studio's "Contemporary East European Ceramics" exhibition in 1992 - an influential moment in The Clay Studio's history as many artists from this show donated their works to the studio beginning what is now our permanent collection.

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David Binns

Pierced Form, c. 2010

8 x 20 x 19

Part of his Pierced Forms series, this work resembles organic material, like brain coral. It represents his interest and experimentation in science that would lead to his development after retiring of a company focused on material research for industrial purposes.

David Binns has worked in ceramics for over forty years in the UK. He has divided his time between his own art practice, teaching and research. On graduating he worked with David Roberts, a highly regarded Raku potter, based in Holmfirth, England. He taught at Wrexham College of Art between 1982 and 1990, before moving to teach ceramics at the University of Central Lancashire, in Preston, UK.

In September 2020 he retired and was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Ceramics. During his time at UCLan, he ran the MA Ceramics programme, and was Head of the Silicate Research Unit, combining his interest in science with his art. Investigation developed through his art practice and more formal research led to the formation of a University spin-out company. ALUSID makes architectural surfacing materials (tiles, cladding and solid surfaces), made almost entirely from recycled industrial ceramic and glass waste. The company has undertaken projects for a number of prestigious clients including, Nando's restaurants, Wells Fargo Bank, Amazon, Selfridges, and Harrods, and numerous private clients in the UK and Middle East.

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Now retired from my teaching post, I devote my time to my own art practice, whilst continuing to undertake R&D work for ALUSID.

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Jamie Davis

Jar, c. 1990

12 x 8 D

Jamie Davis was born in Philadelphia in 1945. He earned a B.A. from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, in 1967, an M.A. from Exeter College, England, in 1971, and an M.F.A. from Clemson University, South Carolina, in 1973. Primarily a ceramicist, Davis also creates wall-mounted sculptures of metal, fabric, and paper. His work has been exhibited at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the South Carolina Arts Commission, and in several galleries, and is in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, among others

This carved and decorated raku fired vessel is a great example of Davis' decoration technique. He combines stenciled animals or figures with graffiti linework and applied color before raku firing his earthenware vessels.

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Jonathan (Jon) Middlemiss

Totem, c. 1980

30 x 9.5 x 6

Jonathan Middlemiss (UK, 1949 - 2021) was an internationally renowned artist recognized for his exceptional skills in creating intricate ceramic sculptures which integrate themes of geometry, ecology, spirituality and landscape. He described his ceramic forms and paintings as openings to different experiences of nature, using sensory immersion in the landscape as the foundation of his work.

Middlemiss' personal philosophy explored maps of consciousness that offer portals to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual states that arise from engagement with nature. This metaphysical relationship used different visual languages to express sensory experiences in different mediums, most notably clay. He often used natural materials such as stone, wood, and metal in his work, applying pastel and charcoal in his dynamic and evocative paintings.

Jonathan's ceramic artwork has received numerous awards and can be found in public collections and museums around the world, including in Britain, the U.S.A, Europe, and the Far East. Jon began his career making functional ware between 1972 - 1977, during which time he studied the techniques of other artists in his local area of Devon. In 1979, he was invited to exhibit his work at Exeter University and created the first exhibition based on his visualizations of the Tree of Life - a theme he continued to explore throughout his career. His work is held in the permanent collection of The Clay Studio.

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William (Bill) Schran

Bowl, c. 1985

3.5 x 14 D

William Schran retired as Assistant Dean from Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus after 38 years teaching and was awarded Professor Emeritus. Bill has been working with Crystalline glazes for decades and presents at many forums and cares deeply about the entire arts community.

Here is what he says about his research,"Though traditionally produced at cone 10, I have discovered very satisfactory results with crystalline glaze formulas fired at cone 6. My research in this area started as a result of the kilns at school not firing to cone 10 quickly enough to allow time for necessary temperature holds to grow the crystals (this was before we had all L&L kilns). I experimented with existing cone 10 recipes by adding increments of low temperature fluxes until I found a few newly formulated glazes that produced consistent results. I've continued this area of research, concentrating on glaze formulas using various commercial frits as the primary flux. The results of this research will provide studio ceramicists and schools with limited firing capabilities the opportunity to explore crystalline glazes."

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Antonia Salmon

Standing Form, c. 2015

8.75 x 19.5 x6.5

Antonia Salmon (English, b. 1959) has been creating artwork for over 40 years. Her work has been exhibited and collected in Britain, Europe, USA and Japan. She was brought up in a household dedicated to modern sculpture and architecture; her childhood was infused with awareness of form and space. She studied Geography/Geology at Sheffield University, later at Harrow School of Art as a studio potter. A year spent studying in the Middle East and India made a deep impression on her approach to work and after returning to England in 1985 she established my first workshop in London. By 1989, in search of a life closer to nature, Salmon returned to Sheffield from where she continues to work today.

She says about her own work, "I have long been intrigued in the relationship between man and the natural world. My sculptures are strong abstract forms that reflect qualities of being: such as chaos and order; holding and letting go; stillness and dynamism. The works also represent my lived experience, such as the space between moments of time, listening to sounds of wind, water and silence; walking through landscape; touching rocks, moss twigs and seed heads.

I seek to make sculpture that stands as if poised in space, inviting you to reach out and touch. The sculptures ask you to contemplate space, form, light, shadow; stillness and dynamism, silence, poise. They ask you to find within them both personal meaning and a sense of unity beyond yourself."

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Kathy Dambach

Abstract Form, 2005

15.5 x 5.5 x7

Kathy Dambach earned her BFA at Ohio State University, and her MFA at Wayne State University. Dambach showed in many exhibitions during her career. She taught at the School for Creatives Studies in Detroit, and then at Florida International University from 2004-2014, when she retired.

In her work Dambach focused heavily on capturing the human experience through abstraction. Dambach explains. "I'm interested in how we collect these mementos and how they mark certain periods of our lives." This abstract sculpture has the amazing quality of being both free standing and having the ability to hang on the wall.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

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Helen Carter

Wings

#1: 14 x 12 x 8
#2: 12 x 12 x 10

Helen Carter attended Middlesex University, London before moving to Berlin, Germany in 1993.

Artist Statement

Technique - Clay and other materials: the clay used is T material, with the occasional addition of small amounts of porcelain or other white-firing clay, to create a smoother surface. T material on its own is finely grogged and readily takes on an encrusted, ancient appearance. The piece is then bisc fired, with or without the addition of oxides, or coated with a slip of some kind, then fired again to 1135°C, sometimes with the reluctant addition of a real glaze, e.g. one based on Gordon Baldwin's opaque white or one cobbled together from bone ash, Finnish wood ash, frit and oxides.

Forming- the pieces are all handbuilt: pinched, coiled and scraped. As T material is especially good at being taken from a dried-out state back to plastic, alterations can be made to certain areas even when the main body of the piece is dry. The work is as thin-walled as is practicably possible, sometimes with an encrusted surface, achieved by applying a number of layers of clay or grogged slip or both, with intervening firing

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