Susan Thayer (born 17 October 1957 in New York, NY) is an American ceramicist known for her intricately painted porcelain teapots.[1] Inspired by her grandmother's china as well as by historical European ceramics, she often combines traditional elements with other more contemporary designs in her work.[2] In order to maintain a high level of detail, Thayer must often fire each individual piece between ten and twenty times.[1] She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Education and career
Thayer graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI, in 1982 with a BFA in ceramics.[2] After graduation, she remained in Providence and opened a porcelain production studio, though by 1986 she grew discouraged by "the limits imposed by the demands of production."[3] This discontent led her to begin creating one-of-a-kind pieces,[4] drawing on originality rather than the uniformity of mass production. These pieces are often inspired by traditions such as the ceremony and grandeur of a dinner table in all of its propriety: set with dishes on placemats and with multiple spoons, forks, and knives designated for different courses.[3] In addition to serving as an image of tradition, the dinner table—like the teapot—also suggests the notion of people coming together in a ritualistic setting.[5] In conjunction with this classic imagery, her distinctive teapots are also inspired by change, which she perceives as "both desirable and inevitable."[3] That sense of change manifests itself in her teapots as slight alterations of the original form: the perfect spouts start to lengthen or warp, or surface designs are rendered in glow-in-the-dark paint.[3]
Work
Thayer has stated:[5]
My forms are vessels, their contents stories. All stories are mysteries or they wouldn't be stories. I invite the viewer to freely interpret these scenes, creating a narrative as in a dream. Although no longer functional in the literal sense my teapots retain their association with the participatory event of taking tea. Whether in a social context such as the tête à tête or larger tea party or through the meditative act of taking tea alone, the teapot itself speaks of inclusion.
Thayer's work is fluid in nature and intentionally "imperfect."[6]
Museum collections
Thayer has been represented in the following museum collections:[7][self-published source]
- De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
- Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR (closed, with its collection now held by the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR)[8]
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
- Newark Museum, Newark, NJ
- Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
- Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC[5]
Her work was shown in 2003 in "The Artful Teapot" at the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art and the Long Beach Museum of Art.[6]
Selected solo exhibitions
Thayer's solo exhibitions around the U.S. include:[9][self-published source]
- 2000: Quincy Art Center, Quincy, IL
- 1999: Recent Work, Margo Jacobsen Gallery, Portland, OR
- 1995: Recent Work, Lucky Street Gallery, Key West, FL
- 1991: Paintings, Harrison Gallery, Key West, FL
Selected group exhibitions
Thayer's work has been included in the following group exhibitions:[9][self-published source]
- 2017: Variations on a Theme: Teapots from RAM's Collection, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI[10]
- 2014: Magic Mud: Masterworks in Clay from RAM's Collection, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI[11]
- 2000: Defining Moments, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- 1997: Rhode Island Collects, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
- 1996: 4th Annual Teapot Exhibition, Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis, MO (now Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, University City, MO)
- 1995: The Forest, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, WA (now Elliott Arts West, Santa Fe, NM)
- 1994: I'm a Little Teapot..., Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
- 1994: Teapot Invitational, Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- 1993: 48th International Ceramic Art Competition, Faenza, Italy
- 1993: Feats of Clay V, Gladding, McBean & Company, Lincoln, CA[12]
References
- ^ a b "Susan Thayer", Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
- ^ a b Thayer, Susan. "Bulb Flowers - The Process", Ceramics: Art and Perception, 1996.
- ^ a b c d Thayer, Susan. "Reaching to the Past", Ceramics Monthly, April 1994.
- ^ Thayer, Susan. "Reaching to the Past", Ceramics Monthly, April 1994
- ^ a b c "Greenwich House Pottery and SOFA NYC present SUSAN THAYER: 'China Painting - What You Don't See'", Greenwich House Pottery, 2001.
- ^ a b "Susan Thayer". World & I. 18: 82. January 2003 – via EBSCOhost.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "About Susan", Susan Thayer. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
- ^ "About", Center for Contemporary Art & Culture. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
- ^ a b Thayer, Susan. Resume.
- ^ "Variations on a Theme: Teapots from RAM's Collection: January 29 - July 9, 2017", Racine Art Museum. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Magic Mud: Masterworks in Clay from RAM's Collection: February 2 - May 4, 2014", Racine Art Museum. Retrieved on 7 March 2017.
- ^ Crane, Carolyn. "Feats of Clay", Ceramics Monthly, April 1993.