Curtis Fontaine, Untitled Vessel #21, USA, 2021

Curtis Fontaine’s abstract ceramic sculptures are created through a unique process of hand building that relies as much on intuition as structural aptitude. Years apprenticing under American ceramic artist Toshiko Takaezu helped Fontaine develop a keen sense of form and technique. The genesis of Fontaine’s abstract sculptures can be seen in Takaezu’s “closed form” vessels, though, whereas Takaezu used a traditional method of throwing a pot on a wheel, Fontaine’s process involves coil building, allowing each work to emerge and evolve without the symmetrical restraint that the wheel dictates.

Fontaine’s works, whether functional or non functional, maintain a strong corporeal sense of nature, resembling gourds, body organs, sea life, or even ancient root systems. His glaze colors are developed through many tests, as well as deduction and guessing and ultimately, luck.

Medium: Ceramic with glaze

Dimensions: 31.50h x 24.50w x 21d in, 80.01h x 62.23w x 53.34d cm