Howard Kottler had a broad sense of humor and a remarkably precise artistic touch. Older by a generation than most of the artists associated with West Coast Conceptual and Funk ceramics, he also had an extremely advanced skill set, acquired in part through study at Cranbrook Academy of Art with Maija Grotell. Once he settled into his groove, though, there was no one making stranger or more provocative work in the medium.
Kottler is perhaps best known for plates decorated with decals. These works, riddling and rebus-like, offer an oblique and darkly funny commentary on the contradictions of American life. Less well known, but equally significant, are works like Deco Dream Pot, which combine pop and historicist elements in a way that anticipated later postmodernism.
Deco Dream Pot in whiteware, glaze, and luster. Designed and made by Howard Kottler, 1970, USA.
10" L x 5" W x 20" H
25.4cm L x 12.7cm W x 50.8cm H
SC862
Courtesy of Paul Kotula Projects