Peter Voulkos Ceramics

His large clay sculptures often took the form of ice buckets plates and stacks which he then cast in bronze.

Peter voulkos ceramics. 29 1924 bozeman mont died feb. After earning degrees at montana state college b s 1951 and the california college of arts and crafts m f a 1952 voulkos. Voulkos was born january 29 1924 in bozeman montana to greek parents efrosine and harry voulkos. Quest for disposition of earlier work for the catalogue project newsletter regarding workshops shows publications gallery affiliations and online resources.

Entrapped in the process of clay making voulkos developed works not with the traditional craft foundation of ceramics but rather in an experimental way that lead him to treat the medium as pure sculpture. 16 2002 bowling green ohio helped the craft of pottery gain acceptance as an art form through his creation of ceramic works that were highly esteemed for their originality. In 1972 alter nearly a decade working primarily as a sculptor in metals peter voulkos returned to ceramics in the mid 1950 s he had virtually reinvented the field by introducing into clay issues and techniques previously restricted to contemporary painting and sculpture in the early 1970 s voulkos concentrated on two basic ceramic forms. Peter voulkos american ceramics artist born jan.

Peter voulkos was an american sculptor of greek heritage. Voulkos freed clay from its traditional historical and technical limitations by expanding the aesthetic possibilities to include gesture and sculpturally expressive forms. A participant in the resurgence of american studio crafts he helped change the viewpoint that ceramics were merely utilitarian objects. Peter voulkos almost single handedly changed the direction of contemporary american ceramics in the late 1950s.

Three tiered sculptural stack pots and. The artist s influences included zen philosophy asian. Peter voulkos born panagiotis harry voulkos on 29 january 1924 in bozeman montana deceased on 16 february 2002 in bowling green ohio was an american artist of greek descent he is known for his abstract expressionistceramic sculptures which crossed the traditional divide between ceramic crafts and fine art he established the ceramics department at the los angeles county art institute. Peter voulkos was a ceramic artist at the pinnacle of american abstract expressionism.

Always trusting his intuition he brought high energy and life to his pieces by fusing traditional divisions between craft and art. The charismatic rebellious sculptor and teacher was a genuine rock star of his medium a trained potter who went. Calling peter voulkos a ceramist is a bit like calling jimi hendrix a guitarist.