Sokyo Gallery proudly presents its first solo exhibition of John Mason, an American clay artist who liberated vessel forms from their function and created a context for non-vessel ceramic structures. The exhibition will overview more than 60 years of his contributions to the art of ceramics with a collection of his works from the 1950’s tea bowls to the most recent slab-built pieces.
John Mason was born in Nebraska and grew up in a homestead ranch in the Nevada desert. He moved to Los Angeles to enroll at the Otis Art Institute, where he met Peter Voulkos, who inspired Mason in his transition away from potter’s wheel to making sculptural forms. Mason and Voulkos worked side by side, building a studio together on Glendale Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles. The large kiln at this new studio and later at the new ceramics building at Otis enabled Mason to explore innovative techniques for making sculptures from clay and eventually gave birth to his first large-scale sculptural work in 1957. The creative activities of Mason, along with those of Voulkos and the group of young ceramists around Otis, incubated the first recognizable Los Angeles avant-garde and left an important mark in the art history of Southern California.
Mason’s exploration in the ceramics medium has continued to evolve after Voulkos left Otis: Massive wall reliefs and statues frequently in the cross (“x”) form in the 1960’s show the artist’s interest in structures and geometry; The 1970’s sees more conceptual works, such as “Hudson River Series,” built with industrial firebricks; and in the late 20th century Mason re-explores vessel forms with a different sense of geometry in complex surface patterns and pentagonal shapes. His most recent works are slab-constructed glazed clay sculptures that resemble figurative art. While Mason’s works receives renewed appreciation in recent years from the art world, most notably the 2014 Whitney Biennale, Mason continues to work quietly to pursue his art.
The exhibition at Sokyo Gallery will showcase 33 works from Mason’s studio in Los Angeles.
Please take this rare opportunity to see his works outside the U.S. and enjoy his great repertoire in ceramics art.
