Functionalism to Funk: California Ceramics

Saturday, February 23, 2002—Sunday, January 19, 2003
Studio Ceramics and Glass Gallery
Free Exhibition

This installation presents the work of ceramic artists in California from the 1940s, when renowned potters Beatrice Wood and Marguerite Wildenhain set up their wheels to make striking incised and glazed pots, through the present. "Functionalism to Funk" also tells the story of the irreverent "Funk" movement in ceramics that began in the 1960s with Robert Arneson's comical portrait busts. The installation features several new ceramic sculptures in the Institute's collection, including a monumental stack pot by Peter Voulkos and a bust by Arneson of Viola Frey, whose work is also represented in the exhibition.