Viktor Schreckengost (American, 1906-2008). Avail, 1949. Hewn and glazed earthenware. 19-1/2 inches high x 23 inches wid...

Description

Viktor Schreckengost (American, 1906-2008)
Avail, 1949
Hewn and glazed earthenware
19-1/2 inches high x 23 inches wide x 8 inches deep (49.5 x 58.4 x 20.3 cm)
Incised signature to underside: VIKTOR SCHRECKENGOST

According to Viktor's notes, the Avail vase was made from "George Fetzer sculpture clay with engobe underglaze." George Fetzer, a graduate of Ohio State University, established at ceramics supply company in Columbus, Ohio which gave professional discounts to ceramic artists, like Viktor, who were educators. Viktor used Fetzer's red-firing sculpture clay for a great many of his vessels and sculptures, in part because the clay could be satisfactorily worked even when drier.

Avail is the most monumental example of Viktor's hewn vessels in the current auction, actually fashioned from slabs of clay in the manner a sculptor carves a statue or a bas relief. By essentially carving his vessels in this radical approach after returning from the war, Viktor entirely rethought ceramic-making. In fact, his approach anticipated the work of a figure such as Robert Arneson, and even the non-utilitarian slab forms of Peter Voulkos by decades. This work possesses tremendous subtlety of color in the glaze which shimmers from green to lavender to blue.


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