Daum Muesum: Peter Callas/Sparks

On October 6, 2007, the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art will open a solo exhibition by Peter Callas entitled, Sparks.

Charlemagne
2003, woodfired stoneware, 48″ x 24″ x 24″

From the Daum Museum website:
Peter Callas is a ceramic sculptor working in the tradition of abstract expressionism who has produced a repertoire of sculpted images grounded in the Zen aesthetic. He is one of the foremost sculptors working in clay utilizing the anagama kiln to produce large scale expressionist forms. For many years he fired the works of the preeminent American clay artist Peter Voulkos in his New Jersey kiln and traveled extensively worldwide with Voulkos as his assistant. Today he is considered to be one of America’s foremost authorities on the wood fire anagama kiln tradition. He has found his own voice influenced by Voukos but uniquely original. He has exhibited extensively in Korea, Japan and Norway and his works are in museum collections in those countries as well as in Hungary, Brazil and numerous American museums including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art.

The exhibit runs through January 27, 2008. In conjunction with the opening there is a free two-day workshop with Peter that is open to the public: Friday, October 5th, 9:00 am-3:00pm and Saturday, October 6th, 9:00 am-12:00 pm.

A lecture by the artist is scheduled for Saturday, October 6th at 2:00 pm.

A 48-page full-color catalog is availablewith an Introduction by Curator Douglass Freed and an essay “Romancing the Mud” by Ronald Kuchta. To order a catalog, contact the museum.

Peter Callas

Peter Callas, born in Jersey City, N.J. in 1951, is an American potter who has been influenced by the Japanese woodfiring tradition, as well as the work of his friend and collaborator Peter Voulkos († 2002).

While these influences are apparent, Callas has developed his own unique style and made his mark on the woodfiring scene with pots as well as sculpture.

During his travels in Japan, Callas became particularly enamored with Anagama kilns, which he continues to use to this day. Pieces that are fired in this way have an ancient look about them, as if they had been sitting on the bottom of the sea for thousands of years.

Callas has exhibited extensively in the US as well as Japan and can be regarded as an established figure in Anagama woodfiring as well as a proponent of Abstract Expressionist ceramics, in league with Voulkos, Soldner and others.


Further reading: Peter Callas Gallery