Jack Rogers Hopkins, California Design Maverick
Curated by Katie Nartonis
March 1, 2024 - September 28, 2024
Jacobs Education Center Gallery at The Sam + Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts
The fact that much of this material still exists is credited to this exhibition, which has been in the works for several years. The Hopkins family home in San Diego was destroyed by a fire in 2018. A large amount of the work Jack made for the family was lost. A large number of drawings, notebooks, photos and jewelry pieces were in the possession of the curator at the time and therefore spared from the fire.
Sam Maloof's house in the foothills is a the perfect setting for the exhibition. Hopkins and Sam were both in the sphere of Millard Sheets in Claremont. Sam worked for Sheets until 1949. Then Hopkins studied under Sheets and earned an MFA from Scripps College in 1958. Jack would also go back to teach at Claremont in the summers of 1964 and 1965.
After receiving his MFA, Jack moved from Bakersfield to San Diego in 1960 to take a teaching position at San Diego State College (now SDSU).
Although Hopkins is now mostly known for his work in wood, he didn't exhibit his first wood piece until 1969. Up until then, he was known for his ceramics and was also a painter and metalsmith. A Hopkins piece is seen here in middle of the bottom row in a Scripps College 17th Ceramic Annual exhibition catalog from 1961. In San Diego’s Craft Revolution, Dave Hampton notes that in the 1963 Ceramics: East and West exhibition catalogue Hopkins is described as a "ceramic sculptor".
Ceramics from his Claremont days studying under Paul Soldner.
In Katie Nartinos and Jeffrey Head's book, Jack Rogers Hopkins California Design Maverick, Dave Hampton documents Jack's arrival in San Diego's artist community becoming the Allied Craftsmen's 47th member in 1960. Hampton mentions an interview where Jack said "I never threw another pot." It was in 1961 when he stopped throwing on a wheel and focused on hand built coil sculptures in clay.
The article above references the exhibition San Diego State ceramics department head and Mingei Museum founder, Martha Longenecker organized in Yokahama, Japan, which is San Diego's sister city. It was the first international exhibition by the Allied Craftsmen. The article also mentions that an Ellamarie and Jackson Woolley enamel was gifted to Yokohama by the San Diego Fine Arts Society. Besides Hopkins, Margaret Price, Marg Loring, Lawrence Hunter, Arline Fisch, David Stewart, and others were part of the exhibition.
A major Hopkins ceramic sculpture from the Collection of Steve Goodban
According to Jo Lauria's essay, The Wearable Sculptures of Jack Rogers Hopkins, jewelry was the focus of Jack's work beginning in the 1960's and lasting until the mid-1980s. A Hopkins ring was selected for California Design 10.
Hopkins was showing his jewelry and furniture at various craft exhibitions throughout the 70s and 80's.
Salt and pepper shaker in silver and ebony, 1965.
Although his signature style is evident in his ceramics and jewelry, it was a 1969 San Diego State faculty show where Hopkin's style would first be translated into furniture. Hampton points to the years of working close to furniture department head Larry Hunter as a major influence on Hopkins making this transition into furniture.
Stack laminated bench.
A desk he made for San Diego State.
In use at SDSU
Source: Jack Rogers Hopkins California Design Maverick,
A man showed up to the exhibition opening with a number of Hopkins drawings that accompanied a dining set (similar to the coffee table above) he bought at auction a few years back.
Now, only existing in photos is Jack's most well-known work. The "Womb Room" combined a sound system, lighting, shelves, chair and a lot of stacked laminated wood to create an environment. It was featured in a number of publications, including California Design 11 and Creating Modern Furniture, by Dona Meilach. With his most noted creation is the lore that goes along with. Unable to place the large scale piece, Hopkins eventually destroyed it.
The only parts left are the speaker grills.
A lesser know piece with an interesting function and story is the Waxler commission. Made out of stack-laminated Hondouras Mahogany, it was used in a private home. Hopkins was commissioned to build the organ controller/desk with a chair in the mid-1970s.
Here is Mr. Waxler with the completed commission. I don't believe there are any photos of it in use.
It's on loan from LACMA, although It took an interesting path (through a casino) to get into the museum's collection.
In 2013, Nick from Archive received a phone call from a man who was very much to the point. He said he had furniture by Jack Rogers Hopkins he wanted to get rid of. He sent a photo (above) but wouldn't name a price. He assured Nick if he came to Nevada, they would surely strike a deal. So Nick called his friend Mac and told him, hey we need to go to Reno tomorrow. They jumped into a pickup truck the next morning and headed from Laguna to Reno, because that's obviously what you do when something this good is at stake.
Upon arriving to the house, after getting lost, the man asked Nick to make an offer. He did and it was accepted. The man basically asked Nick to take the set, get out and not to bother him again. It was too late to drive back to California so they had to stay the night. It was Reno so that means staying in a casino. Since they only had a pick up, they had to store the Hopkins in their hotel room. This required them to walk the set across the casino floor and up the elevator. I really wish they had video of this.
Nick brought it back to his shop, which was relatively new at the time. I did a blog post on it when he had just bought it in 2013. You can see that here. From there, Gerard from Reform Gallery was able to convince LACMA they should add it to their collection.
This piece was sold at Wright in 2004 and again in 2007. The picker side of the story is that District Modern found the chair and a ding table at a consignment shop in San Diego for $1,200. Jack was still alive at the time and they called him up. He sent a note to them and said back in the day he hired a guy to do some AC work and paid him with these pieces. Decades later they ended up at the consignment shop. Now the chair is at Todd Merrill in New York, where it has been since 2007.
This sculpture is also at Todd Merrill.
