Wednesday, June 20, 2012

ABC WEDNESDAY-Weisman Art Museum #3


  

Supervised by architect Frank Gehry, the great man himself, the Weisman Museum recently completed the renovation of five galleries, one of which is the ceramics room.  


The Weisman's five new galleries allow the museum to share more than three times as many objects from its permanent collection at any given time. One new gallery is filled with highlights from the noted ceramics collection (master potter Warren MacKenzie helped select the work); two house master works of American modernism; and another showcases the Weisman's considerable collection of photography, prints, and drawings.


The ceramic shown on this page are those of Warren Mackenzie and are glazed stoneware.  The large plate is entitled "Let the pots speak." MacKenzie has described his goal as the making of "everyday" pots. Accordingly, although his pots are found in major museums and command high prices among collectors, MacKenzie has always kept his prices low and for various time periods did not sign his work (1970s, most of the 2000s) until recently resuming the use of his chop at the end of 2009. Most of his output is produced in stoneware, although he has worked in porcelain at times during his career.

MacKenzie is well known as a teacher. Since 1952 he taught at the University of Minnesota, where he is a Regents' professor emeritus.



He lives outside Stillwater, Minnesota, with his wife Nancy, a fiber artist, where he continues to maintain his studio, despite ailing from silicosis. Until December 2006, MacKenzie also housed a showroom on his property. The showroom operated strictly on the "honor system" whereby pots were marked with price stickers and visitors would pay for pots by placing their money in a wicker basket, making change for themselves as appropriate. Unfortunately, due to theft and customers selling his work for an outrageous profit online, MacKenzie closed his showroom, opting instead to sell his pots through the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Trax Gallery in California, Lacoste Gallery in Massachusetts and the Schaller Gallery in Michigan, as well as exhibitions around the country.


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18 comments:

  1. Love the plate on top! I would gladly have it on my table.

    Kate, thank you so much for the link to Jessica Lange's biography.

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  2. Quite a sense of humor too, I see.

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  3. I love that top plate too!

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  4. Oh wonderful I hope to get up there one day, love these examples of Warren's work.

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  5. Sorry that the honor system was so dishonored. Nice stuff.
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  6. Thanks for the introduction of this artist. A talented man indeed!

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  7. Beautiful pieces!

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  8. These are wonderful. It would be nice to have one's artwork in such demand. Thank you for the history. It is quite interesting.

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  9. I really like that first piece of pottery. Really interesting!

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  10. How interesting, Kate! Thanks for introducing me to Wayne's work. Imagine if the pots could speak...the tales they could tell of meals and gatherings would be intriguing.

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  11. Wow! That ceramic top left had me smiling. Don't think I'd buy it, though. Fascinating story about MacKenzie. Quite a fine artist!

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  12. Museum is always a good place to go to!

    Wacky Wheel, come and see.

    Rose, ABC Wednesday.

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  13. Talented artist... Couldn't help it, but the image reminded me of my husbands running group back in the nineties. They were called the grasshoppers!

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  14. This brings to mind a cousin of mine who has collected cups and saucers all her life and now has had showings at museums. I am very proud of her!!

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  15. These are wonderfully done!

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  16. Anonymous12:51 AM

    If these designs were translated to music I could call them psychedelic !!

    P

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  17. WOW! I like these ceramic pieces very much!

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  18. Anonymous6:55 PM

    seems like quite a unique connection

    when time races like a bullet

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