Peter Callas and Paul Chaleff are among a group of seven artists, including Peter Voulkos, Toshiko Takaezu, Robert T. Cooke, Takao Okazaki and Rudolph Serra, showing at Grounds for Sculpture’s Masters of Clay exhibition which runs through September 28, 2008. The following information is from their website.
Masters in Clay
Through September 28, 2008
In the Museum and Domestic Arts Buildings
Masters In Clay presents seven globally known artists. All of whom have gone on to make monumental sculptures in clay and other mediums. But they have continued to produce ceramic works of small dimensions, though not stature. They share the fundamental belief that clay is a medium to be reckoned with - that it no longer has parameters of size, function, glaze or firing, and that its future is limitless.
Museum Building
Peter Voulkos and Toshiko Takaezu are two of a generation that changed the course of ceramics; their teaching careers spanned decades and their influence on their students and other potters cannot be over emphasized.
Voulkos and Takaezu come from opposite ends of the globe and results of each of their sensibilities are worlds apart; their educational backgrounds and aesthetics could not be more different. Yet the one defining word that comes to mind when seeing their ceramic sculptures is “masterpiece.” Scale is of no importance: some of the tiniest works have the power to inspire awe while some of largest have the delicacy to appeal to the most refined taste. Firing and surface finish… raku, pit-fired, glazed or unglazed… aer of great significance because each has its own qualities that produce unique results.
Toshiko Takaezu’s ceramics are a model for reflection on the importance of balance and a reminder of the continuous presence of emptiness. The harmonious natural forms give a shape to the void and reveal her attitude about space. The elegant glazes transmit an impression of great depth. Simplicity of form and her spontaneous and painterly technique give her art its distinctive characteristics.
Peter Voulkos is credited with bringing ceramics from a utilitarian craft to a fine art. He was the central figure in what has been called the “Revolution of Clay” of the 1950s; Voulkos expanded the boundaries of the medium, eliminating its functionality and raising it to expressive and heroic sculpture. Originally his art was manifested in thrown and decorated vessels, but he removed from the traditional to expressive clay forms, slicing and slashing the surfaces and creating his unique signature style.
Domestic Arts Building
Peter Callas, Paul Chaleff, Robert T. Cooke, Takao Okazaki and Rudolph Serra continue what is becoming a tradition of breaking new ground with a centuries old medium. These five artists have differences in tehir approach to clay yet there are similarities of philosophies, sensibilities and backgrounds that unify teh artists and give cohesion to the juxtaposition of their ceramics.
Peter Callas articulates his inner feelings through the style of abstract expressionism and his incredible technical skills. Paul Chaleff communicates his vision through exploration of human emotion. His works have implicit and is understood through the familiarity and universality of expression and feeling. Robert Cooke elaborates on the fundamental role chance plays in his work and his life. Takao Okazaki creates works that are filled with movement and action. Rudolph Serra works by intuition; his spontaneous pieces derive from no preconceived ideas but from a freedom of spirit.
All of the artists share the fundamental belief that clay is a medium to be reckoned with, that it no longer has parameters of size, function, glaze or firing, and that its future is limitless.
