Bowl

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.