Concentration,

Matt Nolen

Glazed Porcelain

24 in H x 10 in x 14 in

Inscribed Signature

More than a vessel, this extraordinary pitcher is a world of stories waiting to be discovered. Across its expansive surface, Matt Nolen brings together fantastical scenes, expressive figures, and moments drawn from everyday life, inviting viewers to linger and uncover new narratives with every glance.

Rich in movement, imagination, and intricate detail, the piece rewards repeated viewing-revealing something unexpected each time. Whether admired as a sculptural centerpiece or celebrated as an exceptional example of ceramic storytelling, this remarkable work is sure to captivate collectors and guests alike.

Artist Statement

"As a painter, architect and storyteller, clay provides the means by which I can marry my loves: the painted surface, three dimensional form and narrative content. Ceramics gives me the language to communicate my stories to a world audience. The themes of my early work have included a broad range of social, political and psychological subjects.

Most recently I have turned to the figure as form departing from the lavishly painted vessels and tiled environments of previous works. In doing so, the stories I am telling have become more personal and often are informed by the inner landscape of self: notions of shelter that explore what we protect and keep private vs. that which we choose to reveal, escape through dreams, and contemporary takes on ancient Greek and Roman portrait busts and the architectural load bearing caryatid and atlas. I have developed 3-D porcelain speech and thought balloons that I am combining in various ways to explore the narratives that inspire me. Recent bodies of work have included print editions as well as sculpture rendered with ceramic, metal, wood, stone, rubber and found objects.

My figures tell the stories of those who are challenged by conflicts and are in the midst of emotional or psychological transitions. It is life lived within the complexity of these "margins" that interests me the most."

Artist Biography

Matt Nolen is a studio artist living and working in New York City and Narrowsburg, NY. His work has been exhibited internationally and is in numerous private and public collections including: The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, NYC., The Museum of Arts and Design, NYC., The Houston Museum of Fine Art, TX., The de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA. and The Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY.

Nolen has been awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Mid Atlantic Foundation (regional NEA) Fellowship and international residencies in Israel and China. His residency at the Kohler Co.'s Art/Industry Program resulted in a handmade public washroom that has been named "Best Restroom in America" by the Cintas Corp. and among "The 10 Best Bathrooms in the World" by the Travel Channel.

He has recently served as President of the Board of Trustees for Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine and is Adjunct Professor of Art at New York University, Hunter College, and Ceramics Area Coordinator at Pratt Institute.

This piece was 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 12:00 pm on September 27th 2026.
• 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.

Dream Fossil, Sculpture of the Rescue Angel, 2012

Gilda Oliver

Ceramic

24 in H x 24 in x 24 in

This charming early work by Glinda Oliver offers a rare glimpse into the beginnings of her artistic career, when she first explored clay as a creative medium before becoming internationally recognized for her paintings and mosaic installations. Even in this early ceramic piece, viewers can recognize the hallmarks of her celebrated style: a soft pastel palette, references to the natural world, and a captivating interplay of representational and abstract forms.

Both historically significant and visually engaging, this work provides collectors with a unique opportunity to own an early expression of an artist whose distinctive voice would go on to shape a remarkable career.

Artist Statement

My personal work also tries to connect to this spiritual beauty. I am influenced by the religious art of the Renaissance and other traditions of spiritual art, particularly depictions of angels and saints. My personal work and community artwork tries to connect people to an interior beauty which often goes unrecognized and unappreciated.

Artist Biography

Gilda Oliver is a contemporary American artist working in large community installations, murals, tiled wall mosaics, acrylic on canvas, and ceramics.

She creates pop art-style animal portraits using outlines, free from patterns, superstructures, soft edges, and often pastel colour motifs. Gilda uses full backgrounds to place the art's subject-typically an animal-into it's own universe of design and colour.

For 25 years, Gilda's fine art has been a lasting vehicle of social connection, healing and the interconnection between humanity and nature. Throughout her artist career, she has worked with communities to design art pieces for permanent display in places such as children's museums, hospitals and public spaces in addition to fine art gallery exhibitions. This has garnered her considerable attention from international art investment firms who have valued her pieces at over $1 million and see her work as aligning with corporate social responsibility and sustainable luxury.

Oliver is an internationally recognized artist and cultural animator whose projects integrate children and adults for community building. Her recent solo show "The Path" at Nina Torres in Miami continues her journey in art - drawing inspiration from Kandinsky and Mondrian. Abstraction recapitulates multiculturalism. The Nina Torres gallery promotes cultural exchange through contemporary art exhibitions. For Gilda Oliver's review in July/August 2014 issue -International Alternatives Investor's Review Magazine follow link . Fine Arts Magazine - 2014 issue

Gilda Oliver is represented by Nina Torres Gallery -Miami, Loveed Fine Arts- New York & 25Kadr gallery-Moscow & other galleries.

• 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 12:00 pm on September 27th 2026.
• 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.

On The Move, 1982

William (Bill) Stewart (1941-2020)

Earthenware

24.5 in H x 5 in x 6 in

Bursting with color, movement, and imagination, this exuberant sculpture by William Stewart is a joyful celebration of creativity.

Layer upon layer of intricate forms, playful figures, and unexpected details come together in a dynamic vertical composition that rewards closer inspection from every angle.

Stewart's inventive approach transforms clay into a lively visual narrative, balancing whimsy with extraordinary craftsmanship. Bright glazes and richly textured surfaces create a sense of energy and discovery, inviting viewers to uncover new characters and stories with each glance. Whether displayed as the centerpiece of a contemporary collection or admired as a conversation-starting work of art, this captivating sculpture embodies the playful spirit and technical mastery that define William Stewart's distinctive artistic vision.

Artist Biography

Bill Stewart was born in Plattsburgh, NY. His work is held in public collections including the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery. He taught at SUNY Brockport for many years, and was a vibrant member of the art community in New York State.

Bill Stewart's sculpture explores diverse concepts, such as non-linear chronology, body decoration and costumes, folk and native art. He combined components in his work, to produce "an eccentric energy," creating edgy, "off-center, weird, absurd, and irreverent" works of art--as he stated. Stewart's sculpture draws from both popular and ancient cultures. They also reflect the artist's immersion in some of the most interesting, if lesser known, art historical movements of the twentieth-century. The brilliant palettes and expressive, distorted forms of Karel Appel and the CoBrA group come to mind. And, certainly, they share a common interest in folk art, children's art and ancient art, as well as the "Funk Art" movement of the 1960s-humorous, pop-oriented and irreverent in spirit.

This piece was 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 12:00 pm on September 27th 2026.
• 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.
  

Defence - Brass Knuckle, 2005

Harin Lee

Porcelain

12.5 in H x 4 in x 5.75 in

Delicate, contemplative, and exquisitely crafted, this porcelain sculpture by Harin Lee captures a quiet moment of reflection. With an expressive gaze and graceful pose, the figure draws viewers into an intimate narrative, while Lee's remarkable attention to detail brings warmth and humanity to the work.

The pristine porcelain contrasts beautifully with the richly textured, metallic base, creating a compelling dialogue between softness and strength, refinement and resilience. Every carefully sculpted detail-from the subtle facial expression to the intricate textures below-demonstrates Lee's extraordinary technical skill and poetic approach to figurative ceramics.

Both elegant and emotionally resonant, this captivating sculpture is a timeless work of contemporary ceramic art that invites contemplation and rewards close viewing.

Artist Statement

Lee Harin explains that his work attempts to explore the subversive nature of desire particularly among those people who assume an ambiguous gender identity. It is not immediately apparent if the figures are male or female, Asian or Western. This blurring of distinctions is a purposeful commentary on the roles people assume in their interpersonal relationships. He also feels that his own ambiguity as an artist who has split his time between two cultures and split his creative efforts between different media has allowed him more sympathy with people who choose unorthodox paths.

Artist Biography

Following the correct path has always been hard for Lee Harin. Although he grew up in the sympathetic environment of a family of artists, he struggled with the restrictive art teaching in the Korean school system. His struggles culminated with his failure in the rigid art school entrance examination leaving him with a bruised ego and a determination to succeed by another path. He found this successful pathway at the State University of New York at New Paltz where he first encountered clay. Switching from his previous interest in painting he applied himself to mastering the techniques of throwing and hand building. Although he feels that his pottery is still subpar, he has obviously gained a mastery of the subtleties of expressing himself in sculpture. After spending two years at Alfred University and getting his MFA he returned to Korea to do his compulsory military service which he said was much easier than the intense period of work at Alfred.

His transPacific journeys resumed when he went to Philadelphia where he spent two years working at the Clay Studio. The body of work which resulted from his stay in Philadelphia was a distillation of his thoughts regarding the transgressive roles that people assume in their relations with others.

• 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 12:00 pm on September 27th 2026.
• 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.

Brave

Nancy Jurs

stoneware, glazed with a copper patina.

23.75 in x 10 in x 10

Inscribed Signature

Blending the organic beauty of nature with the strength of architectural form, this sculptural work transforms the familiar column into an elegant abstract composition. Its graceful bends, crisp edges, and flowing curves create a dynamic sense of movement while maintaining a powerful feeling of stability and balance.

At once structural and expressive, this striking sculpture invites viewers to explore the relationship between the built and natural worlds. Whether displayed as a standalone statement piece or incorporated into a larger collection, it offers a refined balance of strength, form, and artistry.

Artist Biography

Trained in traditional pottery at Rochester, NY's School for American Craftsmen, Nancy Jurs spent the first fifteen years of her artistic career creating functional raku works. In 1980, however, she began to expand the parameters of her ceramics, creating functional wall shelves, or "wall pouches," that suggested butterflies or female forms. These pieces were soon replaced by "blouses" that Jurs considered emblematic of women's bodies and spirit.

The relationship of the clothing-inspired pieces to Greek and Roman draped sculpture led Jurs to experiment with larger-than-life-size sculptural forms that suggest goddesses, women, and animals. The emotionally expressive clay shapes are hand-built or wheel-thrown and are glazed, painted with acrylics, or finished with any combination of techniques that appeals to the artist. "Where all my work was once a many-faceted female expression," Jurs has said, "it now appears to be much more about women in emergence-a growing out, rising above, or hatching from other forms and constraints."

• 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 12:00 pm on September 27th 2026.
• 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 Trio, c. 2005 - 2010

Heeseung Lee

Terracotta

Various sizes

Inscribed Signature on each piece

This delightful trio by Heeseung Lee brings together playful color, unexpected imagery, and an imaginative mix of forms. The three works create a lively conversation between history and nature, tradition and playfulness-a distinctive collection full of color, character, and visual surprises.

Artist Statement

I choose to work functionally because clay has an inherent characteristic that fosters utility. Moreover, I want to create work that is tangible for the viewer. I feel that functional objects signify the everyday and everyone has constant contact with these objects within the context of their own lives, homes, and worlds. I feel that function creates a viable entry point for most viewers to move beyond the threshold, and into the world of the arts.

Currently, as I make my own work, I reference the everyday objects of Asian culture. Imagery embroidered on clothing is encoded with auspicious meaning, enchanting the everyday lives of the wearer by allowing the richness and significance of the world to emerge. Our lives should constantly be touched by the beauty and significance of what we at first glance, consider the mundane.

I have taken patterns from the stylized linear landscapes of Korean screen paintings, colors from Japanese lacquer-ware, and compositional arrangements from various Asian textiles. I have gleaned cloud-like masses and undulating geometric lines to create abstract patterns that compliment my vessels. I borrow from the dense symbolic language that has been cultivated throughout Asia for centuries, and I imbue my pottery with auspicious imagery to bring good luck to the user. I am infatuated with the layering of patterns and textures, creating visual rhythm and energy, defining space, and alluding to the evidence of the passage of time.

I aim to forge a subtle balance of dualities in the work that I create. I juxtapose the eloquent and the satirical, the organic and the geometric, and the sublime and the mundane. As objects, my work embodies the passive, and as functional vessels, my work signifies the active.

Artist Biography

Heeseung Lee earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She uses the functional aspects of her vessels to create an entry point for viewers to go beyond the threshold of a utilitarian object and into the world of art. Lee plays with patterns from the stylized linear landscapes of Korean screen paintings, colors from Japanese lacquer-ware, and compositional arrangements from various Asian textiles to embellish her ceramic vessels. Lee is infatuated with the layering of pattern and textures, creating visual rhythm and energy, defining space, and alluding to the evidence of the passage of time.

Pieces of this lot were donated by the Family of Marge and Phil Kalodner, and the Grainer Family.

• Winning Raffles are announced at 10:15 pm EST on September 26th
• If attending the event in person winners may pick up their Raffle in the first floor Gallery at 10:30 pm
• Any winner not in attendance will be contacted on Monday September 28th.
• 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.
• please note: one raffle sheet is 10 tickets for $10, or three sheets of 10 (total 30 tickets) for $25