Kottler Posing As A Cubist

1987

American, 1930-1989

On the back of this ironic cubist-inspired self-portrait, Kottler inserts yet another classic reference: a Rubin vase, which is an image that can be read either as two faces in profile or as a vase. Here, Kottler uses his own likeness with his recognizable long mustache.

Low-fire ceramic with luster glaze

33 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (85.09 x 41.91 x 10.8 cm)

Gift of Anne Gould Hauberg

89.5

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Views and Visions In the Pacific Northwest, June 7 - September 2, 1990.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture, June 21 - September 2, 2024.

Published ReferencesKangas, Matthew. "Face-Off: Howard Kottler and His Times," in Ceramics: Art and Perception. Issue 90, 2012, p. 33

Failing, Patricia. Howard Kottler: Face to Face. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1995, p. 111, illus.

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