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Win Ng Studio Ceramic Jardiniere

About the Item

Win Ng Studio Ceramic Jardiniere Studio ceramic, unsigned, gifted to collector/friend along with a number of other signed pieces during the period. Two-piece cinnamon colored planter with ochre drip glaze and abstract expressionist "slip and drip," composition. Subtle elongation of circular base into ovoid as vessel reaches up through intersection of two nesting forms culminating in elliptical opening. Detailed dimensions: Separately: Top is 14"ht 12.75"w 9.25"dp; Bottom piece is 11.75"ht 8.75"dp 9.25"w Overall Dimensions: 24"ht 12.75"w 9.25"dp 24"ht 12.75"w 9.25"dp (separately: top is 14"ht 12.75"w 9.25"dp; btw is 11.75"ht 8.75"dp 9.25"w $3400 *Win Ng Notes: (1936-1991) Chinese American Artist Born in San Francisco working in ceramics, sculpture, painting and metalwork. Education: St. Mary's Academy for a six year study of Chinese language; City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University; BFA in ceramics from San Francisco Art Institute, 1959; MFA at Mills begun but not possibly not completed. Selected Solo Exhibitions: Mi Chou Gallery, New York, 1958-62. Quay Gallery, San Francisco, 1968; Braunstein/Quay Gallery, 1985; Various solo shows in Paris, New York, Portland and San Francisco culminating in The Art of Wyn Ng, Chinese Historical Society of America, San Francisco, 2005. Selected Group Exhibitions: San Francisco Museum of Art, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966; 8th Annual Exhibition of Ceramic Arts, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C., 1961; 3rd International Exhibition of Ceramic Arts, Seattle World's Fair, 1962; California Sculptures, Oakland Museum of California, 1963; La Jolla Museum, La Jolla, CA, 1965; American Potters Today, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1986; Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA 1989 In 1965 Ng, together with Spaulding Taylor began to focus on utilitarian design founding Environmental Ceramics and creating handmade art ware and housewares-the precursor to their well known Taylor Ng venture which introduced Asian design to a United States audience. Selected Collections: Oakland Museum of California: National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Victoria and Albert Museum; Museum of Contemporary Crafts; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the De Young Museum; Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; San Francisco Art Commission Collection; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse; Museum of Arts and Design, New York and the Smithsonian, Washington D.C. Public installations: 100 foot mural for concourse level of Orinda Bart Station in Contra Costa County, California. Literature: Object USA by Lee Nordness, 1970; Asian American Art, A History, 1850-1970, Chang, Johnson, Karlstrom, 2008; Asian Traditions Modern Expressions by Jeffrey Wechsler, 1997 Ng was among the first American artists to build clay into non-utilitarian sculpture. Early ceramic abstract work influenced by the built up sculptural works of Peter Voulkos, and John Mason. As Ng described in 1964 to Charles Schafer after an interview for Ceramic Monthly: "With clay I can record the immediacy of my thoughts and explore a wide range of surface textures and color treatments. Structurally, my sculpture occurs in two forms-the angular or square shaped and the round or curvilinear. The first is intended to express form in space, the second, to express fluidity. I try to suggest specific qualities through proportion, weight, movement. My sculptures are not really complete until I glaze them: it's the glazing that unifies them. I use color to enhance, redistribute or encase form. I also use color to reveal or conceal the sporty of the form, depending on the mood which the sculpture inspires. Some sculptures wait for years to be glazed." In an interview for the seminal 1970 publication of Objects USA Ng, who ultimately died of AIDS and was openly gay throughout his career, proposed his own philosophy around gender as an inspiration for creating art: "Structurally my sculpture occurs in two forms: the angular or square-shaped, and the round or curvilinear. The first is intended to express the idea of form-in-space; the second to express the organic fluidity of movement. But more deeply in my thought, both the square and the round represent the ancient ideas of the positive and negative forces in the universe; the square symbolizes the dark or ground spirit (female); the round or circle symbolizes the light or floating element (male). In working within the limits of these two basic shapes and exploring the possibilities of each. I have become increasingly aware of their potentialities and my ultimate goal is to bring both together into one integrated work." As Sharon Spain, et al, describe in the overdue publication of Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970-passage too telling and insightful to resist quoting in full despite discrepancy around actual time spent and degree earned at Mills: "Win Ng was one of eight children born to Cantonese-speaking immigrants in San Francisco's Chinatown. His first art studio, where he explored painting and stoneware creams, was set up in the basement of his parents' home, an indication of his family's support for his art making. An early influence was Jade Snow Wong, who employed Ng when he was in high school. Ng studied briefly at San Francisco City College and San Francisco State College before serving in the U.S. Army as a construction drafter, which enabled him to visit and exhibit in Europe. During the late 1950s after his discharge, he resumed his studies at the California School of Fine Arts and began to exhibit his work nationally. He interacted with a variety of artists during this period, including Peter Voulkos, who visited Ng's studio. After graduating in 1959, he pursued a graduate degree from Mills College, receiving an M.F.A. in 1960. Ng often worked in series, repeating a shape or theme many times in order to perfect its expression. His pieces included large-scale, abstract forms as well as vessels and sculptures recalling Chines lamps, which innovatively incorporated abstract expressionism's dynamic gestures in their rich surface designs and glazes. These works were pivotal in the development of ceramics as sculpture in this era. leading to international exhibitions for Ng and his critical acclaim as an artist "in the top ranks of contemporary American ceramics." Ng was also a successful businessman, confounding the San Francisco retail company Taylor Ng in 1961. The store began as a small pottery shop where artists could sell their hand crafted wares. One of the first of its kind, Taylor and Ng was an early manifestation of the growing arts and crafts movement revival in Northern California, and sold utilitarian, unique art works. The store later evolved into an influential gourmet cookware store, paving the way for the development of San Francisco's burgeoning food culture. During the 1970's, Ng experimented with both abstract and figurative painting. These works were well received and led to public ocommisions throughout the Bay Area, including an acrylic mural for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District's Orinda station and ceramic murals for the Westside Health Center in San Francisco. After being diagnosed with HIV un 1981, Ng left his business interests and concentrated on creating ceramics that refined forms he had explored earlier in his career."

Creator:
Win Ng (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 12.75 in (32.39 cm)Depth: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 2
Style:
Modern (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
Fifties
Condition:
Please see other items in inventory to gauge dealer quality control.
Seller Location:
San Francisco, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU8615899959