Ceramics in Modern Art | Visual Arts Education
Clay is used by ceramic artists to produce beautiful works of art. Ceramic art can be found in a variety of mediums, including artistic pottery, dinnerware, tiles, figurines, and other sculptures. Certain ceramics are considered fine art, however the vast majority of ceramics are decorative, industrial, or applied works, such as pottery or sculpture, rather than fine art.
M. C. Richards (Mary Caroline Richards, Mary C) was an American poet, potter, and writer best known for her work “Centering: in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person”. Richards was born July 13, 1916, in Weiser, Idaho, and died September 10, 1999, in Kimberton, Pennsylvania. Richards was influenced by Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, who believed knowledge … Read more
About Daniel Rhodes Daniel Rhodes (May 8, 1911–July 23, 1989) was an American artist, known as a ceramic artist, muralist, sculptor, author, and educator. Rhodes built a reputation as an authority on pottery. Rhodes is best known for manipulating clay like paint to build up expressive forms and textures. Daniel Rhodes uses a technique of … Read more
Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880–1942) was a ceramicist and a native of England. Rhead worked as a potter in the United States for most of his career. He worked for the Roseville Pottery, established his own Rhead Pottery (1913–1917). In 1935 Rhead designed the highly successful Fiesta ware for Homer Laughlin China Company a design based … Read more
About Don Reitz Donald Lester Reitz (Don Reitz) (November 7, 1929–March 19, 2014) was an American ceramic artist. Don Reitz is credited with sparking a resurgence in the United States of salt-glazed pottery. Sara Period is the name given to a series of ceramic pieces that were created by Don, known as the healing series. … Read more
About Elsa Rady Elsa Rady (July 29, 1943 – January 29, 2011) was an American ceramist. Elsa’s work evolved from functional objects to spare, nonfunctional pieces. Elsa was known for her refined and monochromatic glazed ceramic vessels. Several of her pieces are in the collection of major well know museums across the United States. Elsa … Read more
Kenneth Price (February 16, 1935–February 24, 2012) was an American artist who specialized in ceramic sculpture. He died on February 24, 2012. Before earning a BFA in painting from the University of Southern California in 1956, he studied at the Chouinard Art Institute and the Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art & Design) … Read more
Mark Pharis is an emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota. He works in an earthenware workshop with Wayne Branum in Roberts, Wisconsin. He has been on the boards of directors of the Archie Bray Foundation, the Northern Clay Center, and other organizations. Mark is known for … Read more
Winnie Owens-Hart (born 1949) is an American ceramist and sculptor. Owens-Hart received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University. Currently, Owens-Hart teaches at Howard University. Winnie is known for using clay to touch on women’s issues, both … Read more
George Edgar Ohr (July 12, 1857 – April 7, 1918) was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed “Mad Potter of Biloxi” in Mississippi. George Edgar Ohr was an American ceramic artist and the self-proclaimed “Mad Potter of Biloxi” in Mississippi. In recognition of his innovative experimentation with modern clay forms, we consider him the … Read more
Richard Notkin is an American ceramic artist who was born in Chicago, Illinois in October 1948. In 1970, he received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. He earned his MFA from the University of California, Davis. Notkin is best known for his teapots, non-functional vessels with elaborate decoration, and unglazed surfaces that pay … Read more