Bowl
Artist
Gertrud Natzler
(American, born Austria, 1908 - 1971)
Artist
Otto Natzler
(American, born Austria, 1908 - 2007)
Date1963
MediumEarthenware with lava glaze
DimensionsOverall: 4 1/4 x 4 1/8 inches (10.8 x 10.48 cm)
Credit LineGift of John R. and Mary Louise Womer
Object numberF85-34/25
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionBowl has thick brown glaze with light green accents. Cratered and pitted.Gallery LabelAfter fleeing from Nazi forces advancing toward Austria in 1938, the husband and wife ceramist team of Otto and Gertrud Natzler arrived in America. With less than a year of training, they combined Gertrud’s elegant forms with Otto’s glaze formulations, continually experimenting with materials and methods. The resulting wafer-thin vessels are enhanced with rich colors and textures. The surfaces of the vessels range from the smoothness of glass to the roughness of stone and volcanic lava.
After fleeing their native Vienna as the Nazi forces advanced toward Austria in 1938, the husband and wife ceramist team of Otto and Gertrud Natzler arrived in America with their potter's wheel and their kiln. The Natzlers' ability to persevere and succeed with little training and few assets fueled what would become a nearly 40-year collaboration that combined Gertrud's elegantly formed ceramic vessels with Otto's multifaceted glaze formulations and firing techniques. The graceful outlines of the their works, as well as the variegated complexities and rich color palette of the glazes were inspired by traditional Chinese and Japanese ceramics, such as those displayed in this case. The Natzlers' continual experimentation with materials and methods led to wafer-thin vessels that glow with vibrantly hued glazes with the smoothness of glass or the texture of stone.
Copyright© Gail Reynolds Natzler, Trustee of the Natzler Trust
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