500 Animals in Clay: Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form

edited by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott

Paperback: 423 pages
Publisher: Lark Books (2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1-57990-757-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-57990-757-0
Dimensions: 8.0" x 8.0" x 1.05"
Shipping Weight: 2.53 lbs.

From the horses, stags, and bison of the first prehistoric cave paintings, people have been inspired to depict animals in art. Yet perhaps no medium is better suited to convey the vitality and personality of living creatures than clay. Now, 500 of the very finest pieces from ceramists around the globe have been brought together into a virtual menagerie of enduring distinction. Some are whimsical, others functional, still others starkly conceptual. Every one is a stunning example of contemporary ceramics at its most expressive.

Domestic or wild, feared or revered, animals are central to the human experience. Their images are pervasive in the art of all cultures, from prehistoric cave walls to modern museum galleries.

Clay is unique in its ability to capture these powerful beings, so it is no wonder that contemporary ceramics is particularly rich in animal imagery and symbolism. The 500 breathtaking pieces here bring life to creatures great and small, realistic and fanciful. Chosen from over 3,000 submissions, they encompass an enormous range of style and technique as well as an unsurpassed excellence of craft. Among the international group of artists featured are some of the top names in the field.

The artists' approaches are as diverse as the animal world itself. Many of the selections reflect major art movements, including realism, expressionism, post-modernism, and beyond. Some are figurative, while others incorporate their imagery into functional pottery such as pots, jugs, and goblets. All are magnificent and dynamic works of art.

Several, such as Bryan Hiveley's textural "Goats on Parade" and Priscilla Heep's "What's for Dinner?," are abstracted and stylized. Others, for example Pamela Earnshaw Kelly's raku clay "Touching the Earth," Bill Evans' hand-built stoneware "Chimp," and the turtle in Laurie Sharkus' painted and smoke-fired stoneware "Nomad," seem ready to spring to life. Andrew Davis' red earthenware "Winky the Bear" and Daphne Gillen's chopstick-wielding "Boar Chowing Down" combine whimsy with realism. And Cynthia Consentino's surrealistic "Rabbit Girl II" and "Rabbit Girl III" literally bring the concept of anthropomorphism to a head.

Among the many ingenious and imaginative pottery items are a terra cotta "Giraffe Platter" by Laura McKibbon, Suzy Birstein's "Vase Duet: My Baby Just Cares for Me," and "Lizard Bowl" by Emily Dyer. Gillian McMillan's stoneware "Salt-Glazed Jugbird," with its bird-beak spout, harks back to early folk majolica pots, while the unglazed surface of Richard Swanson's "Elephant Rider Teapot" recalls the beauty of Wedgwood basalt ware.

Inspiring and insightful commentaries from Joe Bova, the juror of this collection, and from the artists themselves further illuminate the techniques employed and the meanings of the works.