Triptych
Date1981
Label TextWhen I work with slips over fired glazes, there is much that is accidental, especially in the way the cracks form. Yet I have considerable control by choosing the method of application. I can brush slip, pour it, trowel it, throw it, drop it, make it thin or thick. Each method will create different forms of cracking.
The force of a natural process - like gravity, a human gesture, an explosion, the hammering of a nail or the dropping of slip on a concave surface - produces a record of the moment of creation, as form is changed by the energy and material interaction. It is this moment of interaction that fascinates me...The idea of art as an event, rather than a description, appeals to me very much.
--Robert Sperry, "Abstractions in Black and White," Ceramics Monthly, vol. 38 no. 6 (June 1990)
Object number82.123
Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Asian Affinities" August 28, 1999 - January 2, 2001
Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue Art Museum, "Robert Sperry: A Retrospective", November 23, 1985-January 12, 1986, Circuit Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum, Spokane, Washington, 2/14/86-3/16/86. (11/23/1985 - 01/12/1986)
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Views and Visions In The Pacific Northwest" June 7 - September 2, 1990, (06/07/1990 - 09/02/1990)
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Collection Highlights: 1945 To The Present", September 12, 1996 - June 1, 1997, (09/12/1996 - 06/01/1997)Published ReferencesJohns, Barbara. "Modern Art from the Pacific Northwest in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1990, no. 26, p. 30
American Museum of Ceramic Art, "Robert Sperry: Bright Abyss", 2008, pg. 47Credit LineAnne Gould Hauberg Northwest Crafts Fund
Dimensionseach 15 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 2 5/8 in. (39.4 x 39.4 x 6.6cm)
MediumStoneware with glaze and slip
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