SACRAMENTO, CA.- The Crocker Art Museum announces the August 5, 2018 opening of an extensive exhibition of contemporary ceramics that affords the public a remarkable opportunity to view dozens of works by many of America's best known artists working in clay.

Titled The Elaine and Sidney Cohen Collection of Contemporary Ceramics features approximately 60 works by more than two dozen artists, many of whom extend the traditional boundaries of clay. All of the works in this exhibition have been donated by Elaine and Sidney Cohen of Phoenix, Arizona to the Crocker's permanent collection.

In terms of decoration, examples in the collection range from the bold minimalism of Jun Kaneko and Claude Conover to the figurative exuberance of Rudy Autio and husband-and-wife potters Edwin and Mary Scheier. Some works are expressively raw, like those by Don Reitz and Tim Rowan; others, such as the porcelain works by Tom Rippon and Nobuhito Nishigawara, are elegantly refined.

There are pieces that hint at functionality but are not meant to be used, including a covered jar by Viola Frey and the teapot-based forms of Rick Dillingham and Peter Shire, whereas other works are purely sculptural. Despite these differences, all extend the traditional boundaries of clay, just as the Cohen Collection itself expands the Crocker’s holdings and further reinforces its position as a leader in collecting and exhibiting ceramics.

BACKGROUND: THE ART AND THE COLLECTORS
Elaine and Sidney Cohen began collecting clay pieces early in their marriage, typically as they were hunting for American wood furniture in dusty barns and antiques shops. They were drawn to Red Wing crockery in various sizes, which they intended to use for storage or as table bases. They also liked and collected Bennington spatterware, which was both attractive and functional.

When the Cohens moved from the Chicago suburbs to Phoenix, and eventually to a 1987 Taliesin-designed home with built-in spaces perfect for pottery, they started to acquire the works included in this collection. They had no definite plan to form a collection, but simply purchased work they liked until one day a collection was formed. Over time, they came to know Edwin and Mary Scheier, Rudy Autio, Jun Kaneko, and other ceramists personally, which deepened their appreciation.

Said Crocker Art Museum Associate Director and Chief Curator, Scott A. Shields: "The Cohens decided to gift much of their collection to the Crocker because it expands upon the Museum’s holdings and adds to its strengths. Many of the artists whose work is included in the Cohen collection are represented by multiple pieces, making evident their evolution and breadth of achievement."

The collection boasts particularly strong examples by the Scheiers, who are known for finely thrown functional vessels with sgraffito or applied surface decoration. Mary was an expert on the wheel and threw thin-walled pots often inspired by Chinese and Japanese forms; Edwin created colorful glazes, combining them with motifs drawn from folk traditions, the Bible, African and Oceanic art, archaeology, the natural world, and modern painting styles.

Rudy Autio is also represented by multiple pieces, which collectively show his progression from abstraction to figuration. In clay, he influenced countless artists and has been called the “Matisse of Ceramics” because of his colorful figures and animals, which enwrap his biomorphic forms.

Jun Kaneko, who studied with Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and Jerry Rothman, has since become one of the world’s leading ceramic sculptors. Kaneko came to the United States from his native Japan in 1963. Since 1986, he has been based in Omaha, Nebraska, creating large-scale, hand-built sculptures in clay that are enlivened by glaze abstractions.