Contemporary Clay Art -
Studio Pottery Was Never
Synonymous With Rock & Roll
Contemporary clay art has a new chic. Forget the earnest and minimal work of studio potters like Bernard Leach, pottery now officially 'ROCKS'. What on earth happened? Read the news below .....
Grayson Perry won the Turner Art prize in 2003 (no other potter had ever considered entering it).
------ A Rimas VisGirda Teapot ------
The rise of sub-cultural movements like punk have gradually infiltrated into contemporary clay art pottery.Artists like Robert Crumb and S. Clay Wilson are informing the work of new age potters like Rimas VisGirda.
Of course, there are now many online sights which specialize in information on new-age art of all genres. Looking for an online guide to
contemporary art?
- Artspan.com is an excellent resource. I also like the layout of
Wotartist Art Directory
- a neat art directory of select quality artists. The internet is a magical window whatever your field of interest.
Contemporary clay art is the subject of this page and Rimas VisGirda produces visually stunning work in this genre. It informs, amuses and decorates all at the same time. You can also see the influence of Dora Billington and her 'Bayswater Picassettes'. Todays' art potters need to be imaginative, fearless and sensitive all at the same time.
Lack any of these qualities and you're toast (or kiln clinker).The work of Charles Krafft and Paul Smith show this trinity of attributes, yet are totally different. See 'Clay and Art' and 'clay artists' pages for more on these particular artists. VisGirda has very much ploughed his own furrow, making wry comments on the very society he is selling his wares to.
Lithuanian born, he now works and teaches in the US. Holding a degree in physics and an MA in art, he obviously isn't short of a few brain cells. VisGirda’s work is both wheel-thrown and sculpted slab work, with a characteristic surface decoration. One of the things I most identify with is one of his statements about 'experience'. VisGirda says that when things happen to you, sometimes they have an immediate effect, but other times there has to be an incubation period of years before you start to gain knowledge from the experience.
VisGirda's wise words put me in mind of the time before I was a full time artist. I had a high powered executive job which left me totally out of my depth. One day, I remember having a panic attack quietly to myself in my office. I was totally unable to deal with the power politics that were going on in the organization.
I had my head in my hands and was muttering to myself "What on earth can I do about this, I have a wife and kids and a mortgage?". I was searching my mental database for a logical plan of action. No strategy came to me. I was bereft of a functioning hard drive. I left the job, but there was a happy ending. I became an artist and found my way in life. Years later I look back and know exactly what I could and should have done had I wanted to keep my executive career on track (wisdom in hindsight). I'm glad my mind went blank. When Rimas VisGirda talks about 'experience', which he does mainly through his work, I listen.
Rimas VisGirda is represented by Solomon Dubnick Gallery.
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