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Susanne Stephenson
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Susanne Stephenson

$800.00
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Susanne Stephenson
Product Details

Susanne Stephenson, American, b. 1935. A 20th century glazed terra cotta cut vase in blue & orange tones. Artist inventory number "B-89-28" on underside. Measures 8 x 9 x 10 3/4" high overall.

“Stephenson’s work consistently demonstrates that command of color, and vibrant layers interacting with varying textures. The physical shape and dimensions of her pieces evolved with soft curves delineated through incisions and even occasional dismemberment, often growing into bigger, almost fortified pieces bearing deliberate traces of Stephenson’s touch. Her tiring of pieces having flat bottoms fueled her preference to work on several pieces at a time and in parts, perpetually adding and subtracting, she says. Her late husband John described her work as following a “tripod principal.””
- “The Colorful Progression of Susanne Stephenson”, Pewabic Pottery, 2018


*Note: All works can be shipped, please contact us at 734-434-2660 or info@schmidtsantiques.com to request a shipping estimate.


Biography:

Susanne Stephenson, American, was born in 1935 in Canton, Ohio. She received her BFA degree (1957) from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and her MFA degree (1960) in Ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

She taught at the University of Michigan from 1960-1961, and then became a Professor of Art at Eastern Michigan University from 1963-1991, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1991.


Artist Statement:

“The focus of my work in ceramics has been abstracting landscapes in low fire terra cotta clay.The brilliant range of ceramic pigments at this temperature in thick, juicy slips and engobes continues to hold my interest.

The images I deal with in the plate form are fragmented and abstract. The seascape becomes condensed as I try to express a very large image concept in the relatively small space of the pottery form. I am committed to expressing the visual energy that I see in nature at a particular time of day.

The impact of the material clay on my ideas is important because of its plastic and tactile qualities. It helps me pull out the physical and gestural possibilities in my work. To get the full implications of gesture there is a need for three-dimensionality. The energy expressed in the flow of water in nature is an example of gesture. To contain this idea of the landscape in the bowl or vase requires an understanding of gesture. Personally it seems irrelevant to me to pursue the gestural with paint on canvas. For me the canvas is rigid and confining. I am not interested in creating an illusion of space. The clay form for me is a gesture, which carries color of the thickly applied slips. This is the means of my expression.”

- Susanne Stephenson, January, 2007

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