East Meets West, 2025

Chris Staley

porcelain, glaze

14" H x 8" Diameter

With a wide, round body and elongated neck, this vase is inspired by historical Chinese and Korean vase forms. The glazed black and white geometric shapes across the surface of the vase are expressions of Chris' longtime interest in modernism. Of particular influence is the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, who used form to question assumptions about art and encourage the viewer to see the world in new ways. As the name suggests, this vase is an intermingling of Eastern and Western cultures. With its sleek design and simple color palette, this piece would be a perfect addition to any collection.

Artist Statement

The essence of making pots for me is about being human. It's about fragility and strength. It's about the intimate moment when the handle of a cup touches the hand.

Pots are about potential.

Pots can create a world of slow time where meaning can be found.

It is a notable experience to use pots that exude the soul of the maker.

All of our senses are engaged in this experience.

Very few things can be touched and leave one a different person. It is this paradox of who is touching whom that gives pots their greatest potential.

As a young boy I often played outdoors and made things out of dirt and sticks. I struggled sitting behind a desk at school. I knew very early that to survive spiritually I had to keep creating with my hands

With technology spreading at a very increasing pace my need to feel the world seems essential.

Artist Biography

Chris Staley (b. 1954, Boston, MA) has lived primarily in the eastern United States his entire life. His undergraduate studies in art were at Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH, where he received a B.F.A. in 1977. After graduation, he spent a year as a Special Student at the Kansas City Art Institute and the following year entered the graduate program at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY where he received an M.F.A.

Chris Staley has had a distinguished teaching career, beginning with Rhode Island School of Design, Wichita State University, and at Pennsylvania State University where he was Professor of Art and Professor-in-Charge of the Ceramics Area in the School of Visual Arts for over 30 years, and now is Professor Emeritus. He is also active in the community, serving on the boards of both the Archie Bray Foundation and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Most recently he was a long term Guest Artist here at The Clay Studio.

Donated by the artist - Chris Staley.

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Ritual Vessel, c. 2000

Robert Winokur

stoneware, glaze

18.25" H x 12.5" W x 8" D

This glazed stoneware piece is from Robert Winokur's "Ritual Vessel" series, which draws from mysticism or magic, improbability, spontaneity, and emotion. The form is not perfectly symmetrical, opting instead for more organic shapes and surfaces, evidence of the artist's emphasis on process over subject matter. The color palette is subdued, with earthy tones that range from a dark hunter's green to a mustard yellow. Winokur drew inspiration from Abstract Expressionists such as Paul Klee and Willem de Kooning, whose influences can be felt in the irregular glaze work and fantastical shapes. Beginning with a round, drum-like base, the vessel stretches into a long neck with two dark blue wings on either side.

Artist Biography

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Robert Winokur (1933-2020) received his BFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and his MFA from New York State College of Ceramics. In 1966, Winkour returned to Tyler, this time as professor of ceramics, and also department chair from 1988-1991. He retired in 2005 as professor emeritus.
Winokur's practice evolved over the years, with stylized house forms being a recurrent subject. He considered their physical and metaphorical space as vessels themselves. His life-long commitment to the vessel as both a functional and communicative form resulted in a body of work that evokes powerful emotions while retaining a sense of familiarity and comfort.
Robert and his wife Paula maintained a shared ceramics studio for more than 50 years-half being the porcelain or "light" side and the other the stoneware or "dark" side, according to Paula in a 2013 interview produced by the James A. Michener Art Museum. Their working relationship was a testament to shared creativity and support.

Donated by Tracy Levesque

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Double Jar, 1996

Tom Turner

porcelain, glaze

15.5" H x 10.5" Diameter

This lidded vase by Tom Turner has subtle decoration and a sense of elevation. The overall form invokes a large bubble rising from the base. At the top of the piece, the speckles of brown and green work in tandem with texture in the glaze to create a diamond pattern that dissolves toward the middle of the jar. It is hard not to enjoy the softly rounded forms that Turner has incorporated into this piece. He successfully conveys this idea of a living and breathing object as the jar swells out and in from the top to the center and down towards the bottom.

Artist Biography

Tom Turner is known for a wide range of functional forms. Of these he revisited the covered jar from hundreds of times, perfecting a thin-walled vessel. Up until 1975 Turner worked in both stoneware and porcelain glazed and salt fired. From 1975 onward, Turner worked in porcelain which he glazed and high fired, but after 1976 did not use salt glaze but fired glazed porcelain in an old salt kiln.

While serving in the US Army, he taught ceramics in the Army Special Services where his civilian supervisor introduced him to potters in the area of Columbia, South Carolina. After the Army, Turner set up the Ceramic Arts program at Clemson University College of Architecture, Department of Visual Studies. It is here that he built a small salt glaze research kiln and also where he created his very first "Copper Red Vapor Glaze" on salt-glazed porcelain. He would continue to develop this glaze over several years. In 2005 Turner established his kiln in Marsh Hill, NC to pass on his knowledge. He said of North Carolina, "... it is without doubt, 'The Potter's State."

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vessel, c. 1980

Anna Silverton

terracotta

23.5" H x 12.75" Diameter

Exuding elegance in its form, texture, and colors, this Anna Silverton vase is indicative of the artist's thoughtful ceramic practice. Seeking to convey sensual simplicity and deep contemplation, Silverton allows the materiality of the porcelain to shine through simple organic forms. Silverton's attention to detail shines in this tan-colored ceramic vase. Its organic forms and sharp edges are so naturally intertwined that they move with grace and are visually pleasing. This vase will not only fit right in with your home's aesthetics, elevating any space.

Artist Statement

My vases and bowls speak to both past and future-bringing together history and potential through timeless, hand-crafted processes. While I admire both historical and contemporary porcelain, any influence on my own work is more subliminal than deliberate. Each piece I create is unique, and I find satisfaction in the cadence and harmony that emerge when individual forms are brought together in a group. My practice centers around wheel throwing, with an emphasis on the gradual renewal of form and a meticulous attention to finish. Though I am drawn to minimalism, I seek a more sensual kind of simplicity-one that invites touch and contemplation. Glazes are carefully chosen and applied in direct response to form; I am continually experimenting with colour combinations and textures to expand their expressive range.

Artist Biography

Anna Silverton is an established ceramic artist, well known for her finely wheel-thrown porcelain. She has exhibited widely at galleries and art fairs in the UK and has had public/architectural commissions around the world. Her expertise on the wheel is captured on YouTube as part of the Ceramic Review 'Masterclass' series.

Silverton graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Ceramics and Glass in 1987. She subsequently lived and worked in New York USA, where she taught and had a studio at Syracuse university. She returned to the UK and set up her studio in London in 1993, with the help of a Crafts Council Grant. She now lives in Ramsgate, Kent, and creates artwork in her purpose built workshop.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vessel, 1989

Masuo Ojima

stoneware, glaze

19.75" H x 15" Diameter

This orange and gray striped vase by Masuo Ojima is bold, adorned with beautifully dynamic patterns moving across its surface. The stripes are cinched and never straight, creating a sense of constant motion. Upon closer examination, the colors themselves are just as dynamic as the patterns. Dark and light orange hues move across the surface, contributing to a sense of depth and action. The gray surface color is spotted, reminiscent of organic materials like stone, rocks, pebbles, or pavement.

Artist Statement

I was born and grew up in Japan. The first two decades of my life there established my culture and aesthetic value. I have many memories of wood and clay around me while I was growing up because my father was a cabinet maker and my grandfather was a traditional Japanese roof tile producer.

Ever since I was a child my interests were always inclined to music and the art field. It was so many years later that I encountered ceramic work. In college, I serendipitously came across the ceramic department on campus and was quite intrigued by watching students working in clay. I immediately signed up for class the following quarter and during the first class meeting I was immensely overwhelmed by the feeling and excitement of creating some objects out of my own hands with just an idea and playful mind. It did not take much time to change my mind to go into the art field not knowing what the future would hold.

Several years after finishing my studies at college, I established my own studio and started creating my work. It has been nearly 4 decades since this journey started. Although there have always been struggles, frustration, experiencing terrible results that occur during the firing process, and many more not to mention. Joy and excitement and seeing something new being created can not be replaced by anything. I will be pursuing my work as long as I am excited by the creative process and AS LONG AS my body allows.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Boat Vessel, 1995

Marcio Mattos

black stoneware, porcelain paper clay, under-glaze, and brushed glaze decoration

10.75" H x 22" W x 3.5" D

This Boat Vessel by Marcio Mattos embodies his love of jazz and improvisational music, and will bring those ideas into your home. Not only is the form of this vessel both unconventional and creative, but the dynamic brushstrokes of shimmery browns and greens across its surface create constant motion and visual interest. The Boat Vessel will serve as interesting and creative centerpieces for the table with the addition of flowers, or can stand alone as a sculptural object.

Artist Biography

The Brazilian-born Marcio Mattos studied acoustic guitar in early teens, eventually switching to double bass and cello after becoming interested in jazz. Later, Mattos entered the Villa-Lobos Institute where he became involved in improvisation and electronic music. Since moving to Europe in 1970, Mattos has performed, recorded, and broadcast in Britain and abroad with such musicians as Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Derek Bailey, and Marilyn Crispell.

Marcio Mattos became fascinated with clay after seeing an exhibition of tea ceremony bowls at the V&A museum many years ago. He went on to train at Richmond College and later for a degree at Goldsmiths College. He presently creates one-off sculptural vessels and plaques in black stoneware and porcelain paper clay with dry-glazed textural surfaces and brushed decoration.

Marcio's early life as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro was punctuated by the presence of nature - the geography of the tropics. Visually, he was fascinated by the steep mountains that surround Rio and the horizontal expanse of the sea. His current work reflects these early impressions both in his tall, upright forms and fluid brushwork surface decoration.

Music was an important part of his youth: the Bossa Nova movement and later, jazz and contemporary classical music. "I bring into my ceramic work the same creative process which lies behind improvisation in music: the spontaneity and intuitive 'free-ness of the moment of creation and the search of the 'Perfect Imperfection'. I try to leave impressed in clay the immediacy of this process, both in texture and in form, emphasizing the sense of freedom and movement through bold brushwork." Marcio Mattos

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Large Vase, 1993

Jim Malone

earthenware

12.5" H x 7" W x 7" D

This vase by Jim Malone embodies the spirit of the Arts & Crafts Movement triumphed by Bernard Leach -- simple and imbued with the spirit of the artist. It is perfect the person looking for artwork that evokes strength and beauty. The vase is grounded and stable in color, design, and form, presenting earth tone and a sand-like texture that complement the curving shapes and elongated form. Whether it is standing alone or containing flowers and grasses, the vase will be sure to add a sense of that elusive balance we're all looking for to your home or office.

Artist Statement

The means by which my pots are produced is at least as important as the end result. This is what gives the work its character, its soul. I would never, for example, choose to work on an electric wheel. My wheel is a very light Korean type kick wheel which demands sensitivity in use but in return allows a closer, more intimate contact with the material. It is more expressive, emphasizing the soft, sensual, and essentially feminine nature of clay. Pots are coaxed into being rather than forced and, somewhere within its hypnotic and silent rhythm pots are born, almost without notice. After more than forty years of working in this area, I was never interested in spreading wider, only digging deeper, undistracted by fashion or trends, in my endeavor to understand and express the beauty trough pottery form, my legacy will be the body of my work I leave behind. On this I will be judged.

Artist Biography

One of Britain's foremost potters, Jim Malone was born in Sheffield in 1946, just as the first generation of post war potters were beginning to absorb Bernard Leach's "A Potters Book," published six years before. In 1972 he was accepted into the foundation course at Camberwell School of Art where his ceramic tutor, Ian Godfrey, began to open his eyes to the craft. Ian led a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum to look at Korean pots and Malone was deeply impressed by the life and spirit of the work. From then on he began to look at what he described as the "taproot" - Korean, early Chinese, and medieval English pots in the London museums.

After receiving his degree, he was able to set up a studio in a remote barn at Llandegla on the Horseshoe Pass in Wales. There he built a gas kiln and started to produce. Years later he left Wales and took up a teaching position in Carlisle at Cumbria College of Art in 1982 alongside fellow potter, Mike Dodd. In 1984 Malone and his family found a cottage at Ainstable in the beautiful Eden Valley, a few miles southeast of Carlisle, where he made a new workshop and kiln in the generous space of the attached outbuilding.

Malone is a consummate craftsman, but the pots suggest that he is still amazed by his art, that it offers him surprises every day. This is surely why the work has a vitality and freshness rare in modern ceramics. Malone has been a full-time potter since he left teaching in 1990.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vase, 1983

Rob Forbes

porcelain

15" H x 6.75" W x 5.5" D

Looking for something colorful and exciting? The striped colors of white, black, green, gray, and pink on this vase are bold enough to energize any home! This tall vase has a triangular mouth and body, allowing for more interesting floral arrangements. Don't miss your chance to bring home this unique piece!

Artist Biography

Ceramicist, author, entrepreneur, photographer and public speaker Rob Forbes is likely best known for founding Design Within Reach, but his accolades expand beyond this accomplishment. He grew up a son of Southern California academics and attended boarding schools in Northern California. His first professional life was as a ceramicist, with some of his formative years in the field spent in Philadelphia in connection with The Clay Studio. After a year riddled with tragedy, he took a year off in pursuit of researching how to make design accessible - which lead to the founding of Design Within Reach. A wild (and unexpected) success, the next few years were a blur that instilled in Rob a confidence to continue to push the envelope and invest in change - including a variety of start ups, a micro-farm, and using the tools of design to create long-lasting impact.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

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.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Urn Pair

Seth Green

stoneware, glaze

Vessel I: 6 3 /4" Diameter x 9 1/2" H

Vessel II: 7 1/2" Diameter x 11 1/2"H

Metallic, moody, and dark, this pair of architectural ceramic vessels are appealing to the eye. The deep color and luster glazed surfaces accentuate, soften, and elevate the forms. Green's pieces seek to capture clean lines and continuous curves, evoking constructions like fortifications, watchtowers, or steeples, while retaining an ambiguity that keeps them at a remove from identifiable landmarks or labels. What remains so notable about these pieces is Green's perceptive experimentation and techniques with varying metals and organic materials inlaid and painted into the clay bodies. Consequently, these pieces are an effect and product of the unique exploration of materials in the realm of ceramic art.

Artist's Biography

Seth Green is an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW), in Fort Wayne, IN. He received a MFA in Ceramics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a BA in Art from Southern Utah University. He has worked at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado and has been an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Before joining the faculty at PFW, Seth taught ceramics at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky where he was promoted to Associate Professor.

Seth actively exhibits his ceramic vessels on the national and international levels, in solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions. His work is represented by the Clay Studio of Philadelphia and the Companion Gallery in Humboldt, TN. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Best Teapot Award in the 2012 Strictly Functional Pottery National Exhibition and was awarded Best of Show, by the Kentucky Arts Council, for his work exhibited in the 2015 Kentucky Crafted: The Market in Lexington, KY. Images of his work have been published in Ceramics Monthly Magazine, Clay Times Magazine, American iPottery, and two Lark Books publications "500 Vases" & "500 Teapots." Seth was awarded the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship and commissioned to make the awards for the Governor's Awards in the Arts by the Kentucky Arts Council. He has also been a demonstrator, visiting artist, and workshop presenter at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, the Clay Studio of Missoula, Michigan Mud Conference, and at several universities around the country.

Donated by the Artist - Seth Green

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.
• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.