Kenneth Price pottery Tequila cups Postwar CA postmodernism Voulkos

  

Kenneth Price pottery Tequila cups Postwar CA postmodernism Voulkos. 2 superb examples of Kenny Price's work. In exceptional and'as new' condition. Original collectors, acquired from Kenny in the mid 1980s in Taos.

Always displayed in a glass cabinet. Approximate dimensions 2.5" tall x 1.5" wide (bowl excluding handles). References below, also see a ton of info online. See the Harwood Museum of Art, Taos collection. Ken Price's ceramic works inhabit the pastiche and nervous irreverence of Postmodernism, as well as the meticulous self-possession of Minimalism and earlier 20th century art movements.

As a leader in elevating ceramics to fine art, Price created a vast body of work, captivating in its eccentricity and use of global ceramic traditions. Born in Los Angeles in 1935, the Southern Californian landscape greatly influenced Price-he surfed nearly every day for over a decade-and his earliest visual memories were of wandering stalls of tourist trinkets and pottery in Tijuana. While in high school, he took art classes at Chouinard and received his BFA from the University of Southern California in 1956.

He briefly studied with Peter Voulkos, whose monumental, brash works and influence were overpowering to the young Price-so much so that he left California to pursue an MFA at New York State College of Ceramics to develop his own voice. He became involved with the boisterous Ferus Gallery, where his first solo exhibition was held in 1960. Throughout the decade, he incorporated what would become his signature biomorphic, enigmatic and erotic forms into functional objects like plates and teacups.

Price also honed his masterful execution of internal scale and ability to craft tension between surface texture and colors. He spent six months in Japan studying pottery in 1962 and incorporated what he learned into his own style; he continued this practice throughout his career, finding further inspiration in folk art and Southwestern and Mexican pottery. Though he did not often speak about his art, Price liked to quote Joseph Cornell, saying: Tiny is the last refuge for the enormous.

Only later in life did he begin working on a larger scale (most of his works never measured over twenty inches). Contained in Price's pristine and seductive vessels are the many subconscious impulses that underlie the everydayness of our lives. Kenneth "Ken" Price was a ceramic artist and printmaker known for abstract clay figures and prints.

He was active in the post World War II period. Born on February 15, 1935, in Los Angeles, California he felt a calling to become an artist in his early youth. Living along the coast, he was attracted to Mexican pottery and surfing, which gave him a lifelong love of the ocean. Price enrolled in his first ceramic class at the Santa Monica City College in 1954. He adopted the formal craft tradition championed by Marguerite Wildenhain.

He continued his studies at the Chouinard Art Institute and Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design) in Los Angeles. He received a BFA degree from the University of Southern California in 1956. In 1957, Price studied once again at the Chouinard Art Institute. He next enrolled at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, earning an MFA in 1959.

While at the Otis Art Institute, Price met Peter Voulkos. He also studied with Billy Al Benston, Mike Firmkess, Jerry Rothman, Paul Soldner, and Henry Takemoto. Price left California for the New York State College of Ceramics to break the influence Voulkos had over him. While at the New York State College of Ceramics, Price worked on developing low-fire, brightly colored glazes.

By the mid-1960s, Los Angeles was filled with art schools, foundations, galleries, and museums devoted to contemporary arts. Price had his first solo show at the Ferus Gallery in 1960.

Price had a total of three shows at the Ferus Gallery. Price spent six months in Japan in 1962.

He remained in Los Angeles until 1970, when he and his wife Happy moved to Taos, New Mexico. Around 1982, Ken Price and his family moved to Southwestern Massachusetts. Price worked in a studio near New Bedford.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art launched a 50-year retrospective of Price's work in September 2012. The show traveled to Nasher Sculpture Center (Dallas) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2013, the Albright-Knox Galley Drawing Center exhibited Price's work of art on paper.

Kenneth Price died on February 24, 2012, in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico.