Pitcher, 1992

Val Cushing

earthenware, glaze

21.5" H x 11" W x 9.25" D

Val Cushing was of the most important and beloved artists and teachers of the 20th century Studio Craft Movement in the US. This piece by Cushing is both bold and traditional, with a historic form rendered in an oversized format. From the earthy green ridges at the top half of the pitcher to the golden swirls cascading around the bottom half, this pitcher exudes a sense of calm. Cushing was dedicated to functional art, taking on challenges to create new and fresh ideas of how ceramics can be both practical and creative. Without a doubt, Cushing's values are apparent in this piece as the pitcher is both aesthetically interesting and perfect for use.

Artist Statement

"I see materials and processes and activities in ceramics to be so endlessly interesting that there is always going to be something out there in front of me that I'm never going to be able to catch up." Cushing explains that his exploration of art is driven by his interests in diversity of ideas, and he cites jazz and improvisation as an example. "A life of clay for me has been an opportunity to be as creative and imaginative as I'm capable of being, therefore fulfilling that need [as an artist to communicate]."

Artist Biography

Val Cushing (1931-2013) was born in Rochester, New York, and received his BFA and MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Cushing was a functional potter, respecting function and the traditional materials and processes of ceramic art. He has created a body of work that is an invigorating infusion of the visual and the tactile.

His full-time teaching career began at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. The following year, in 1957, he returned to Alfred University where he taught pottery and technical courses concerning clays, glazes and related subjects. He retired from Alfred in 1997, after forty-one years of teaching and was designated "Professor Emeritus". Later he taught summer programs at Alfred, Penland, Anderson Ranch, Peters Valley, Haystack and on the island of Maui where he taught for six weeks as the first artist-in-residence at the Hui Noeau. He gave over 250 lectures, workshops and demonstrations that have taken him all over the United States, to Canada, Ireland, England and Japan. His pottery received many awards and honors, has been seen in well over 200 exhibitions, and in numerous one-person shows. His work is in the collections of many public and private museums and galleries in the USA - including the Smithsonian, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt, and the Everson. He received honors from Alfred University, from New York State and from NCECA for his role as a teacher. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council and of NCECA (The National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts) where he was a founding member and a past president. He received an artist's grant from the National Endowment of the Arts; a Fulbright grant for teaching and research in Manchester, England, an artist-in-residence grant at the Archie Bray Foundation and at the University of Wolverhampton, England.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

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