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Image courtesy of the Newark Museum
Image courtesy of the Newark Museum
Image courtesy of the Newark Museum
Image courtesy of the Newark Museum
Image courtesy of the Newark Museum
100 Pieces of Art Pottery: 1880-1930
Sept. 23, 2009 — Jan. 10, 2009
As befits the time period, many of the pieces on display here are Japanese and Japanese-inspired, coming as they did fresh on the heels of the hugely eye-opening and popular Japanese presence at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. To contrast the new styles that came from America's exposure to this work with that of earlier ceramic decorative arts, the exhibition first showcases a striking deep pink and gold, enamalled piece of Sevres porcelain, dating to Napoleonic times. And, a small display, also at the beginning, pays homage to John Cotton Dane, the founding director of the Newark Museum and the man responsible for building its pottery collection and giving a stamp of approval to the notion of ceramics as art. The rest of the exhibit, however, moves firmly into the realm of modern art pottery. We get a nice summation of the Ohio schools, particularly Rookwood, and a significant piece from master craftsman George E. Ohr. This work, derived from a baluster form central to Oriental pottery, is cleverly pinched and folded in a distinct nod to the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic of 'imperfection." From Sevres to Ohr, this exhibit tells us, was quite a long journey!
For more information, please visit www.newarkmuseum.org
Posted by JoAnn Greco
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