Paul Soldner

Paul Soldner (April 24, 1921 in Summerfield, Illinois – January 3, 2011 in Claremont, California) was an American ceramic artist, noted for his experimentation with the 16th-century Japanese technique called raku introducing new methods of firing and post firing, which became known as American Raku^[1]

Biography

He served as an army medic during World War II and began to pursue a career in art upon returning to the United States.^[2] He earned degrees in art education and art administration from Bluffton College and the University of Colorado, then turned his attention to ceramics. He focused first on functional pottery.

In 1954, Soldner became Peter Voulkos' first student in the nascent ceramics department at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now the Otis College of Art and Design).^[3] As Soldner helped his teacher establish the program, he made several changes to the studio pottery equipment, which led to him founding Soldner Pottery Equipment Corp. in 1955, to market his inventions. He eventually held seven patents related to pottery equipment.^[4]

After receiving his MFA in ceramics in 1956, Soldner began teaching at Scripps College.^[5]

In the 1960s he helped found Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado. He was also involved in starting the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.

He developed a type of low-temperature salt firing.^[6] Along with Voulkos, Soldner has been credited with creating the "California School" of ceramic arts by combining Western materials and technology with Japanese techniques and aesthetics.^[7]

While teaching at Scripps College, he organized the Scripps Ceramics Annual - a nationally recognized ceramic exhibition. In addition, as a result of his lifelong friendship with ceramic collectors Fred and Mary Marer, Scripps became the fortunate recipient of the extensive Marer Collection of Contemporary Ceramics. In 1990, Scripps received an NEA Grant to research and organize and exhibition titled, "Paul Soldner:A Retrospective'" that travelled throughout the United States.

Soldner retired from Scripps in 1991. He lived and maintained studios in Aspen, Colorado and Claremont, California.

Awards

• Honorary Doctorates of Fine Arts from Bluffton College (OH) 2003^[8] and Westminster College (PA).
• 2008 Awarded the Aileen Osborn Webb Gold Medal by the American Crafts Council, NYC, NY.^[9]

Bibliography

• Nothing to Hide Exposures, Disclosures and Reflections Clay Times Inc., (2008) ISBN 9780981629612
• Kiln Construction American Craftsmen's Council (1965)
• Makers, A History of American Studio Craft by Koplos, Janet & Metcalf, Bruce; University of North Carolina Press, July 2010, ISBN 978-0-8078-3413-8, 544 pages, 409 color and 50 b&w photos, notes, index

Film and video

• Paul Soldner:Playing with Fire, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Renegade Pictures, Santa Barbara, CA.^[10]
• Paul Soldner, The Courage to Explore, SEMELKA and Kasper, Chapel Hill, NC.
• Paul Soldner:Thrown and Altered Clay, School Video, Chrystal Productions, Aspen, CO and Glenview, wIL.

Galleries and exhibitions

Soldner's work is included in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum UK, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design New York.^[11] Work can also be found in the following galleries:

• American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, USA^[12] Paul Soldner's exhibition "Inferno" was featured for the opening of the museum in Sept. 11, 2004
• Australian National Gallery, Sydney, Australia
• National Museum of Modern Art, Koyoto, Japan
• Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, California, USA
• Scripps College, Claremont, California, USA
• Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C., USA
• Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

See also

• Claude Champy, French ceramist who worked with Raku ware

References

External links

• Paul Soldner's Official Site