Kurt Weiser (born 1950 in Lansing, Michigan) is an American ceramicist and professor. His work—explorations of the relationship between man and nature through narratives rendered in vivid color—are described as "Eden-like.""Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. His work has often taken the form of teapots, vases, and cups, though he has recently begun crafting globes as well. Weiser is currently the regents professor at Arizona State University's School of Art."Kurt Weiser", ASU. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
Education and career
Believing that their young son was spending too much time with "a bad crowd," Weiser's parents sent him to the Interlochen Arts Academy,Lebow, Edward. "Kurt Weiser: Storied Forms", American Craft, December 1994/January 1995. a boarding school located in northern Michigan."Arts Boarding School", Interlochen Center for the Arts. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. He studied ceramics under Ken Ferguson at the Kansas City Art Institute,Lebow, Edward. "Kurt Weiser: Storied Forms", American Craft, December 1994/January 1995. earning his BFA in 1972.Weiser, Kurt. "Resume", Garth Clark Gallery. He attended the University of Michigan to earn his MFA in 1976.Lebow, Edward. "Kurt Weiser: Storied Forms", American Craft, December 1994/January 1995. Weiser also directed the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, from 1977 to 1988."Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
While at the Archie Bray Foundation, Weiser explored the possibilities of clay and focused on "somehow express[ing] the beautiful nature of the material."Failing, Patricia. "Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser", American Craft, April/May 2008. However, around the time of his departure, he had a significant conceptual breakthrough as he theorized that materials exist to allow artists to speak rather than to tell artists what they should speak.Failing, Patricia. "Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser", American Craft, April/May 2008. After he began teaching at Arizona State University,"Featured Artist: Kurt Weiser", Ceramics Today. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. he started to delve into incorporating narrative scenes into his work.
His first foray into experimenting with surface design resulted in a teapot displaying botanical imagery rendered in black and white sgraffito."Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. "Sgraffito," Italian for "to scratch," is a technique that involves applying color to a piece, and then scratching part of that layer off to reveal the clay beneath it."Sgraffito Pottery Technique: Step-by-step Tutorial", Lakeside Pottery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. Soon, probably inspired by trips to Thailand, which boasts a colorful variety of plant life, Weiser began to incorporate china painting in his working methods,"Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. ultimately moving toward more complex narrative scenes. They highlighted the proximity of man and nature, exploring binaries that, he hoped, would elicit a feeling of unease from his audience: "order and chaos, growth and decay, life and death, strength and weakness."Leach, Mark Richard. "Kurt Weiser", American Ceramics, 1993.
Weiser's recent work has grown to include the form of world globes as well as teapots—although, in the spirit of continuing the trend of putting viewers on edge, these globes do not always represent the earth as it is commonly known and perceived.Failing, Patricia. "Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser", American Craft, April/May 2008. Instead, they venture into surreal or fantastic interpretations, oftentimes exploring, as his teapots do, scenes of collision between man and nature."Archive - Kurt Weiser: Globes", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
Artist statement Weiser has stated:"Archive - Kurt Weiser: Globes", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
The ideas and subjects of these paintings on the pots are for the most part just a collection of my own history of fantasy and view of reality. They are built the same way we dream: around a central idea, a cast of characters and environments just seem to show up to complete the picture.
Awards Weiser has received the following awards:Weiser, Kurt. "Resume", Garth Clark Gallery.
2003: Aileen Osborn Webb Award, American Crafts Council, New York City"Kurt Weiser", Ferrin Contemporary. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 1999: Artist Fellowship, Arizona Commission on the Arts 1999: Regents Professorship, Arizona State University 1998: Artist Fellowship, Asian Cultural Council 1998: Research and Creativity Award, Arizona State University 1992: Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts 1990: Artist Project Award, Arizona Commission on the Arts 1989: Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts 1986: Artist Fellowship, Montana Arts Council
Museum collections Wesier is represented in the following museum collections:"Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (now called the Gardiner Museum) Hamline University, Minneapolis, MN Helsinki Museum of Applied Arts, Helsinki, Finland (now called the Design Museum) Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Shigaraki, Japan National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
Selected solo exhibitions
Weiser's solo exhibitions around the U.S. include:"Kurt Weiser", Ferrin Contemporary. Retrieved on 28 March 2017.
2013: The Nature of Imagination, Mackenzie Cross Gallery, Washington, D.C. 2009: Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2008: Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA 2006: 55 Cups, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT"Kurt Weiser", Frank Lloyd Gallery. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 1999: Working his Way around China, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, ALWeiser, Kurt. "Resume", Garth Clark Gallery. 1996: Garth Clark Gallery (now called Clark + Del Vecchio), New York, NY 1993: Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ 1986: Lawrence Gallery, McMinnville, OR 1985: Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, MTWeiser, Kurt. "Resume", Garth Clark Gallery. 1984: Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, MT
Selected group exhibitions Weiser's work has been included in the following group exhibitions:Weiser, Kurt. "Resume", Garth Clark Gallery.
2016: Duets: RAM Pairs Contemporary Craft Artists, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI"Kurt Weiser Biography", MutualArt.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2015: Time for Tea: Contemporary Ceramic Teapots from RAM's Collection, Dane County Regional Airport, Madison, WI"Time for Tea: Contemporary Ceramic Teapots from RAM's Collection: March 12 - September 3, 2015", Racine Art Museum. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2014: Magic Mud: Masterworks in Clay from RAM's Collection, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI"Kurt Weiser Biography", MutualArt.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2014: Bodies at Rest: Figurative Clay from RAM's Collection, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI"Bodies at Rest: Figurative Clay from RAM's Collection: March 19 - March 21, 2014", Racine Art Museum. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2012: Blue & White, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA"Kurt Weiser Biography", MutualArt.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2010: Collecting with Passion: Contemporary Ceramics from the Lennie and Jerry Berkowitz Collection, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO"Kurt Weiser Biography", MutualArt.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2017. 2002: Postmodern Ceramics, Dolphin Gallery, Kansas City, MO 2001: 1st World Ceramic Biennial (International Competition), Inchon, Korea 2000: Defining Craft I - Collecting for the New Millennium, American Craft Museum (now called the Museum of Arts and Design), New York, NY 2000: Color and Fire - Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA 1999: Contained Narratives, Garth Clark Gallery (now called Clark + Del Vecchio), New York, NY 1998: American Craft, Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 1998: Splendor of Porcelain, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA 1995: The Nude in Clay, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL (this location is now permanently closed) 1995: Contemporary Clay Works National, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ 1994: Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Shigaraki, Japan 1992: The National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 1990: Black and White, Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
References