Malcolm Wright (American, b. 1939), Fresh Water Jar (Mizusashi)

Wood-fired stoneware with shino glaze, of round form with dual handles and conforming lid, incised artist signature and stamped to the underside.

5 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.

Sold to benefit the Yale University Art Gallery collection

Malcolm is a master ceramicist and sculptor working in bronze, brick clay, stoneware, and porcelain. Born in Minnesota, Malcolm received a BA from Marlboro College and an MFA from George Washington University, with further study via an apprenticeship to 12th-generation Japanese potter, Tarouemon Nakazato in Karatsu, Japan, and working directly under Takashi Nakazato. Malcolm and his wife, Marjorie, established The Turnpike Road Pottery upon their return from Japan in 1970. He is the recipient of Walter Cerf Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts from the Vermont Arts Council. His work can be found in many public and private collections, including the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, New York; American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California; Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, Little Rock, Arkansas; and Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, Massachusetts.

"In my college years I was interested in the roots of modernism, from the development of cubism, constructivism and futurism to Scandinavian design, and the time/space elements in architecture. These interests were interrupted for 30 years by my deep involvement with Japan, functional pottery for food and flowers and in the ascetic, restrained taste of tea ceremony pottery.

"Over the last 20 years my early interest has reawakened. Walking around the fields among Chuck Ginnivers’s monumental sculptures, here in Vermont, inspired me to revisit these interests. Slowly, I became aware of the power of minimalism as expressed in Tony Smith’s work. More recently, the work of Jorge Oteiza and the foam sculptures of John Chamberlin have been a source of inspiration.

The nature of clay, and my years working with tabletop scale, directs me to a small size that is comfortable, yet retains power. I am interested in dry surfaces, without ash build up, and negative space. I think the sense of Japanese restraint and Western minimalism combine, in these pieces, the forms and ideas I studied more than 40 years ago."

Good condition.