After studying under Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute, Denver native Paul Soldner (1921–2011) became a pottery professor there in the 1960s, when the revolutionary California Clay Movement took root.
Soldner pioneered American-style raku firing methods, experimental updates of the centuries-old Japanese process, which involve pulling red-hot sculptures out of the kiln to be bathed in smoke or dipped in cold water, resulting in beautifully frazzled glazes.
“These new firing and post-firing reduction methods often led to spontaneous, unpredictable and quite wonderful results,” says Greg Nielson, of Dwell Floor Five, in Studio City, California.
Soldner’s raku vases, for instance, with their charred surfaces, seem to smile humbly through the scars of their past adversity.
Alongside the likes of Toshiko Takaezu, Soldner innovated chunky, funky ceramics in the mid-century and beyond. He is one Voulkos student at whom enthusiasts should take a serious look, advises dealer Jayson Lawfer.
The owner of The Nevica Project, a gallery with venues in Chicago and Kansas City, Lawfer explains that Soldner “was a master of raku and was credited with bringing the historic Asian technique to the U.S.” He adds that “Soldner used simple techniques of throwing pottery on the wheel, but to make his sculptural forms more interesting, he also pressed burlap into the clay and stepped on it to give it different textures."
Find Paul Soldner pottery for sale on 1stDibs.
Poul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece
By Paul Soldner
Located in Chicago, IL
Paul Soldner Raku-Fired Crazed Pedestal Piece, Exhibited and published in Paul Soldner "A Retrospective" 1991 Page 97, Pedestal Piece (84-49) 1984, c...
Ceramic
Robert Arneson Monumental Brutalist Stoneware Vessel, 1963
By Robert Arneson 1
Located in Chicago, IL
Robert Arneson Monumental Brutalist Stoneware Vessel, 1963 A commanding example of Robert Arneson’s early studio pottery, this monumental vessel embodies the raw power of Brutalist c...
Stoneware
Early Peter Voulkus Ceramic Vase
By Peter Voulkos
Located in Chicago, IL
Early Peter Voulkus ceramic vase early 1960'd [unsigned].
Ceramic
Monumental 1980's Ceramic Vessel
Located in Chicago, IL
Monumental 1980's Ceramic Vessel from the Collection of Ruth Horwich 22" highX 25" wide X 8" depth Beautiful colors, Glazed ceramic with slot in top, double sided designs.
Ceramic
Important Peter Voulkos 'Plate', 1981 – Wheel-Thrown Stoneware, Surface Drawing
By Peter Voulkos
Located in Chicago, IL
Important Peter Voulkos 'Untitled Plate', 1981 – Wheel-Thrown Stoneware with Surface Drawing Dimensions: 5¼ D × 21 W× 20 H in Signed: Voulkos 81, to reverse Catalog: Registered under...
Clay
Bruno Gambone Gazed Stoneware Vase Italy, 1985
By Bruno Gambone
Located in Chicago, IL
Bruno Gambone Glazed Stoneware Vase, Italy, 1985 Dimensions Height: 9.5 in (24.1 cm) Width: 5.5 in (14 cm) Depth: 3 in (7.6 cm) Description Exceptional glazed stoneware vase created ...
Earthenware
Ceramic 'Pedestal Piece' Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Dallas, TX
Paul Soldner (American, 1921-2011) was an early pupil of legendary, abstract expressionist potter Peter Voulkos. He also did pioneering work in raku, the 16th century technique which...
Ceramic
American Raku Pottery Vessel by Paul Soldner
By Paul Soldner
Located in Atlanta, GA
A modern pottery vessel by American potter Paul Soldner (1921-2011) circa 1960s. Paul Soldner is renowned for his dedication to develop and further Raku firing in American pottery fi...
Pottery
20th Century Brutalist Stoneware Ceramic Vase by Astoul in La Borne
By Eric Astoul
Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR
Eric Astoul 20th century Brutalist stoneware ceramic vase by the French artist. Realized in 1990, signed at the base. Originals browns and blacks wood kiln colors effects. ...
Ceramic
Brutalist Glazed Stoneware Vase by Eric Astoul La Borne, Signed, circa 2000
By Eric Astoul
Located in Camblanes et Meynac, FR
Stoneware Vase by Eric Astoul - La Borne - Circa 2000 - Era Debril Joulia Astoul Sculptural stoneware vase by Eric Astoul, one of the leading ceramists working in La Borne, France. ...
Ceramic, Stoneware, Earthenware
A textured ceramic and raku vase from France, 1980s
Located in SOTTEVILLE-LÈS-ROUEN, FR
An original textured ceramic and raku vase from France, dating back to the 1980s, in superb condition.
Ceramic
Wood-Fired Ceramic Vase by Paul Chaleff
By Paul Chaleff
Located in Atlanta, GA
A stoneware vase by Paul Chaleff (1947-) made in 1984. Chaleff is known for his wood fired ceramic vessel without glaze or sometimes natural ash glaze. The vase on offer is of a highly geometrical form with handcut multifaceted lower body that rises and morphs into a rounded upper body with two hand-molded ears above the shoulder. The surface shows nice firing color variations due to the iron oxidation in the kiln and also carved lines left intentionally by the artist. It is marked with the artist's incised signature and date 84. This piece has a very strong Japanese wabi-sabi appeal which is the aesthetic influence of the artist's work and makes a visually arresting center piece for any interior. "Paul Chaleff is known for his large-scale wood fired ceramic sculptures and vessels. He also created a large body of wheel thrown functional vessels. His vessels are strongly influenced by Japanese pottery, especially the work of one of Japan’s National Living Treasures, Takeshi Nakazato. Chaleff was one of the first American potters using a Japanese style Anagama kiln and became a leader in the introduction of this form of wood-burning kiln. In 1989, he began a regular collaboration with the British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro. Over a period of thirteen years, they created nearly 50 works, both figurative and abstract. Caro’s sculpture has had direct influence on Chaleff’s work as has the sculpture of Isamu Noguchi, and the ceramics of John Mason...
Ceramic
