Craft in America Center honors Leach Pottery with exhibits

June 18, 2020

Upon the centennial of the founding of Leach Pottery approaches, the Craft in America Center, located at 8415 Third St. in Los Angeles, will present two exhibitions celebrating the cup as an object and the impact of Bernard Leach on studio ceramics.

Both exhibits will open on July 18 and run through Sept. 19.

“A Humble Legacy” is an exhibition of approximately two dozen works of historic and contemporary cups made by artists affiliated with Leach Pottery and others who continue in its legacy.

Jeff Oestreich, a Leach apprentice from 1969 to 1971, will give a talk on Zoom and Facebook Live to kick off the exhibit on July 18 at 7 p.m. He also helped organize the exhibit and provided consultation to Craft in America staff.

Master potters Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada established St. Ives Pottery, now Leach Pottery, in Cornwall, England, in 1920. Leach’s conception of the artist-potter and his advocacy for studio pottery in England came at a time when industrially produced ceramics were dominant.

Leach’s role, in communicating Eastern ceramic tradition to the West, had an effect on the global history of contemporary studio ceramics.

The works in this exhibition are a selection of utilitarian cups, or yunomi, that speak to Leach’s ideology and outlook. This international exhibition is organized in consultation with former Leach apprentice Jeff Oestreich, who worked at the pottery from 1969 to 1971.

“Here/Now: Contemporary Narrative and Form in the Yunomi” is a ceramic cup invitational, which will consist of a small group of ceramic artists asked to construct a series of yunomi. The cylinder, being the root structure of most ceramic objects, lead to the yunomi, which can be quickly made.

For information, visit craftinamerica.org/center