Peter Voulkos
In 1972, alter nearly a decade working primarily as a sculptor in metals, Peter Voulkos returned to ceramics. In the mid-1950s, he had virtually reinvented the field by introducing into clay, issues and techniques previously restricted to contemporary painting and sculpture. In the early 1970s Voulkos concentrated on two basic ceramic forms: three-tiered, sculptural "stack pots," and large, stoneware platters. He had first experimented with platelike forms in the late 1950s and early 1960s, slashing, gouging, pinching, tearing, and rearranging their common, archetypal shapes. Typically, he spontaneously brushed vivid slips, or epoxy paints onto their altered surfaces. By contrast, the new series of platters were very different.
During 1973–74, Voulkos produced a limited edition of two hundred decorated earthenware plates, specifically for a multiples project initiated by curator Lee Nordness. Although wheel-thrown by an assistant, the surfaces of these rather uniform discs were decorated by Voulkos himself. Often, he began by drawing two or three sharp lines across their still-soft faces with a knife. Then, with his thumbs, he pressed hard from the underside, producing eruptions ("pass-throughs") on the leather-hard face of the plate. He also often pushed right through the ceramic body, tearing out pieces of clay, and leaving ragged holes. Frequently, Voulkos plugged the smaller holes and pass-throughs with lumps, or balls of smooth, white porcelain to generate tonal and textural contrasts. But by leaving gaping perforations in the concave surface, the artist deliberately introduced light and space into the aesthetic equation.
By 1976, when Untitled [1993.54.21] was made, Voulkos' interest in the platter shape had increased markedly. He now threw the plates himself, often giving them a more sculptural character by varying the thickness of the rims. Voulkos viewed the circular format as a thick, three-dimensional plane on whose surface he could fuse his continuing interest in both abstract expressionist drawing and sculpture. The artist actually exhibited his circular forms as "plate drawings," and indeed, each manipulated surface suggests a landscape image, a different configuration, or plotting of space.
In contrast to his aggressively manipulated plate shapes of the late 1950s, the uniform disks of the 1970s reveal a more classical and reductive aesthetic. Each is a variation on a simple theme. Sgraffito markings and surface perforations are relatively restrained, and often kept to a minimum. Moreover, unlike his earlier series of slip-decorated plate forms, the later series is essentially monochromatic. Generally uncolored, the platters retain their natural, cream-to-brick, earthenware tonality. Surface incisions and pass-throughs, however, were lightly washed with oxide for shading purposes, and then the plates were sprayed with a thin, transparent glaze. Although fired in a gas kiln, their natural coloration gave them a traditional, Japanese wood-fired appearance. Voulkos continued to make plates, but after 1978, they became larger and more sculptural, with greater variegations in color and tone.
Jeremy Adamson KPMG Peat Marwick Collection of American Craft: A Gift to the Renwick Gallery (Washington, D.C.: Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1994
