Pictured: Peter Callas, Vase: 0134, 2016. Wood fired stoneware. 11.5 x 11 x 11 inches. Collection of the artist.
Private Reception: Peter Callas: An Enduring Legacy
Circles of Commitment • Saturday, February 12, 2021 • 3 PM (Pacific)
Executive Director Beth Ann Gerstein invites you to a private reception with artist Peter Callas and curator Jo Lauria to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Peter Callas: An Enduring Legacy. This will be a unique opportunity to explore the exhibition and personally engage with the artist. Following the private reception, the artist will give a artist talk starting at 4 PM, with a public reception to follow starting at 5 PM.
This event is complimentary for AMOCA Circle Members. Masks will be worn, and social distancing will be observed.
Register for the event using the button below (it may take a moment to load). If you prefer, you may also register by emailing communications@amoca.org.
This exhibition is generously funded, in part, by the Windgate Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Julianne and David Armstrong, and The Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture.
Preview Images
The exhibition will feature over 50 works, including intimate tea bowls, selected works on paper, and the premier of an original film about the artist.
About the Artist
Early in his career, Callas traveled to Japan, where he was introduced to the aesthetic philosophies and wood-fired glazing techniques that motivated his future work. Inspired to construct his own anagama kiln in 1975—the first used in North America—Callas later set up a studio in New Jersey, where he continued to experiment with tunnel kilns. In his own words, kilns became Callas’s “engines for creative innovation” and allowed him to embrace rustic effects like scorch marks or asymmetrical firing. His innovations in wood-fired ceramics inspired countless others, including acclaimed ceramic artist Peter Voulkos, who became a longtime collaborator.
The recipient of grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Windgate Foundation, Callas has exhibited extensively, including at the Mashiko Museum of Ceramic Art (Japan), the Powerhouse Museum (Australia), and the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art. His works are held in many museum collections nationally as well as in Asia, Europe, Australia, and South America. This comprehensive retrospective is Callas’s first solo exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art.
Learn more at PeterCallas.com or follow him on Instagram.