Kurt Weiser
Kurt Weiser studied ceramics under Ken Ferguson at the Kansas City Art Institute, earning his BFA in 1972. He attended the University of Michigan to earn his MFA in 1976. Weiser also directed the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, from 1977-1988.
While at the Archie Bray Foundation, Weiser explored the possibilities of clay. Around the time of his departure, he had a pivotal breakthrough conceptually as he theorized that materials exist to allow artists to speak rather than to tell artists what they should speak. After he began teaching at Arizona State University, he began to incorporate narrative scenes into his work.
His initial experimentations with surface design resulted in a teapot displaying floral imagery in black and white sgraffito. Soon after, inspired by his trips to Thailand, Weiser began to incorporate china painting in his working methods, allowing him to move toward more complex narrative scenes. Conceptually, these botanical scenes focussed on the proximity of man and nature, exploring binaries he hoped would evoke a feeling of unease from anyone who viewed his art.
Weiser’s recent work has grown to include the form of world globes as well as teapots—although, in the spirit of continuing the trend of …
Kurt Weiser studied ceramics under Ken Ferguson at the Kansas City Art Institute, earning his BFA in 1972. He attended the University of Michigan to earn his MFA in 1976. Weiser also directed the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, from 1977-1988.
While at the Archie Bray Foundation, Weiser explored the possibilities of clay. Around the time of his departure, he had a pivotal breakthrough conceptually as he theorized that materials exist to allow artists to speak rather than to tell artists what they should speak. After he began teaching at Arizona State University, he began to incorporate narrative scenes into his work.
His initial experimentations with surface design resulted in a teapot displaying floral imagery in black and white sgraffito. Soon after, inspired by his trips to Thailand, Weiser began to incorporate china painting in his working methods, allowing him to move toward more complex narrative scenes. Conceptually, these botanical scenes focussed on the proximity of man and nature, exploring binaries he hoped would evoke a feeling of unease from anyone who viewed his art.
Weiser’s recent work has grown to include the form of world globes as well as teapots—although, in the spirit of continuing the trend of putting viewers on edge, these globes do not always represent the earth as it is commonly known and perceived. Instead, they venture into surreal or fantastic interpretations, oftentimes exploring, as his teapots do, scenes of collision between man and natur
Courtesy of Cerbera Gallery
