2 cols.

Lino Tagliapietra, “Purple Bowl,” 1999, glass, 28½ by 4½ by 4½ inches. Gift of the Larsen estate, photo Dan Kvitka.

MUST RUN 10/19

CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM CERAMIC ART OF KURT WEISER w/1 cut

ak/gs set 10/11 #715379

PORTLAND, ORE. — “Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser,” is a midcareer retrospective that examines the stylistic development of Kurt Weiser’s ceramic work from the 1970s to the present. Internationally recognized as a contemporary ceramist, Weiser is known for his technical virtuosity with porcelain forms and his use of china painting techniques in a distinct contemporary style.

His subject matter illustrates lush, mysterious landscapes and distorted narratives set amid color-saturated flora and fauna that read as voyeuristic candid snapshots of the human condition.

The exhibition comprises 40 ceramic objects drawn from the artist’s holdings, the Ceramic Research Center’s collection, and public and private collections around the country. It opens October 31 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, where it will be on view through January 6.

Weiser earned a BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute where he studied with Ken Ferguson, then received an MFA at University of Michigan. He became director of the Archie Bray Foundation from 1979 to 1988, and in 1989 became head of the ceramics program at Arizona State University where he has been the distinguished Regent’s Professor of Art since 2000.

Weiser’s work is featured in several collections internationally, including the Museum of Contemporary Ceramics in Japan; National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred University in New York and The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

He has received numerous awards, including two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Aileen Osborn Webb Award from the American Craft Council.

The Museum of Contemporary Craft is at 724 Northwest Davis Street, at an expansive new site on the city’s North Park Blocks. The museum is open Tuesday–Sunday 11 am to 6 pm, with extended hours every Thursday until 8 pm; admission is by donation. For information, 503-223-2654 or www.MuseumofContemporaryCraft.org.