Architectural Pottery: Ceramics for a Modern Landscape
Curated by Jo Lauria, at AMOCA
Jo, Dan Chavkin, Jeffrey Head, Gary Wexler and the AMOCA team put together a wonderful exhibition. Displaying this many pots is not an easy undertaking. The wall graphics and photos are great as well.
It all started with La Gardo Tackett in 1949.
Tackett assigned his students at the California School of Art to create forms for modern homes. They held an exhibition of their work at a Evans & Reeves nursery, where Max and Rita (pictured with Tackett above) Lawrence saw the work. In 1950, the Lawrences partnered with two of the students, John Follis and Rex Goode, on a company they named Architectural Pottery.
LaGardo Tackett with a group of his designed Totems; Photo: George Szanik, 1957
Courtesy of Monacelli Press from the accompanying book,Architectural Pottery
Ceramics for a Modern Landscape. by Daniel Chavkin, Jeffrey Head, and Jo Lauria
From the collection of JF Chen.
The bisque platform
Wall of biographies for the designers who worked for Architectural Pottery.
Malcolm Leland prototype birdhouse from the collection of Chris Menrad.
I sold it to him years ago. He has some great pieces.
There are so many really good David Cressey pots in the exhibition.
The chalice in the middle is a lot bigger than it looks.
The flames
The Pro/Artisan line showcases the more crafty side of AP. There is such variety of surface and glaze design.
The piece on the left belongs to Eric Huff.
Cressey Glyph wall from collections of Alvin Lee (standing) and Ten10 (both via Reform Gallery).
Another monumental and rare Cressey, from Menrad.
Another impossible to find Cressey
Pro/Artisan test glazes
Cressey Pro/Artisan lamps
And the ashtrays
The ephemera cases are brimming with great paper.
The middle letter is to Coretta Scott King after the assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr.
MoMA Good Design
The Marilyn Kay Austin section, with many from her own collection.
I remember these Marilyn Kay Austin photos from a visit with her in 2014.
All these pieces came from private collections. This is a dedicated group of collectors (like Alvin, seen here showing off his chalice) who have spent a lot of time chasing them down and collecting a lot more flower pots than most people would think is sane--not to mention the financial commitment. In addition to Alvin, there some other friends who lent to the exhibition, like Eric Huff, Joe Galdo, Joel Chen, The Yorks, and Boomerang for Modern. In addition to the lenders are a number of people in Los Angeles who helped cultivate this interesting fascination with Architectural Pottery over the years. Andy Hackman, Bill Stern, Gerard O'Brien, Scott Nadeau and Peter Loughrey all saw the importance of these pieces and helped promote AP through their various ventures.
The thing that sent me into my interest in California Design was a Tackett double cone I bought on eBay over 20 years ago. Before that, I was into space age plastic. I don't know what it was about that piece, but I started selling all my 1960's Italian plastic and haven't looked back. Tackett is still one of my favorites and I have always had at least one double cone in my living room.
This exhibition is incredible for both those who don't know a thing about Architectural Pottery and also for those who have been at it for years. It's amazing to see so many exceptional examples on display in one room. The research that went into this exhibition and book is just incredible. You have until March to get to AMOCA to see it. Buy the book too! Dan Chavkin has been working on this book for several years and it's so good to see it become a reality.