Author Description

Adrian Saxe, the contemporary Californian ceramist, takes his inspiration from such diverse sources as Chinese bronzes, French porcelain garnitures and American pop culture, to produce pieces which are astonishing and entertaining technical tours de force. Their sumptuous glazes, richly ornate materials and elegant forms are leavened with refreshing doses of humour and post-modernist references to numerous art-historical traditions. A Chinese ritual vessel is topped by a high-heeled shoe; a gilded gourd-shaped jar sprouts Mickey Mouse ears complete with sparkling earstud; an aubergine mutates into a teapot. Occasioned by the 50th birthday of the artist, "The Clay Art of Adrian Saxe" is an survey of his achievement featuring 85 works, many photographed from several angles with enlarged colour views. Authoritative commentary is provided by Martha Drexler Lynn and Jim Collins of Notre Dame University.