Art fabricators rarely get the credit they deserve. Though these artisans are essential to the workings of contemporary art—more and more so as the years go by and production values continually escalate—they often go unnamed, their contributions unrecognized. This was long the case with Ka Kwong Hui, who is arguably the purest example of a Pop art potter. Hui immigrated to America from China in 1948, studied at Alfred University, and went on to be an influential teacher in New Jersey. In 1964 and 1965, he collaborated with Roy Lichtenstein on a series of sculptures featuring stacked-up cups and dishes, decorated with Lichtenstein’s distinctive vocabulary: cartoon outlining and Ben-Day dots.
They were like incidental props from his paintings, brought to life. It is hard to say how much influence Hui had on the ideas and forms, but there is no doubt that the physical realization of the work was entirely his doing. This encounter with Lichtenstein had a deep impact on Hui’s own work, too. His color palette and gonzo imagery introduced an energizing note to Objects: USA, a clean but comical East Coast equivalent to the down-and-dirty Funk of Robert Arneson and his fellow Californians.
Form ceramic sculpture. Designed and made by Ka Kwong Hui, USA, circa 1960.
23” L x 6” W x 23” H
58.4cm L x 15.2cm W x 58.4cm H
SC791