The Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
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Curtis Munhall Benzle
1949Born Lakewood, Ohio
EDUCATION
1967-1969Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan
1972BFA Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1973Graduate studies in Glass, Rochester Institute of Technology, School for the American Craftsmen, Rochester, New York
1978MA Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1978-1979Teaching Faculty, Sea Pines Academy, Hilton Head, South Carolina
1978-1979Teaching Faculty, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
1979-1980Teaching Faculty, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
1982-2001Faculty, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
2001-2007Chair Dimensional Studies, Columbus College of Art and Design
2007-presentProfessor Emeritus, Columbus College of Art and Design
1988-presentOwner, Benzle Porcelain Co., Hilliard, Ohio
APPRENTICESHIPS AND RESIDENCIES
1983, 1985, 1988Visiting Artist, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
1998Visiting Artist, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
BIOGRAPHY
Curtis Benzle is best known for his paper-thin vessels created using multi-colored porcelain in the Japanese technique known as Nerikomi. Nerikomi is a process in which porcelain slabs, colored with stains or oxides, are stacked, folded, pressed into logs, sliced, arranged and pressed into vessel forms. The resulting vessels are thin walled and translucent. He has also used this technique to create lighting fixtures.
In 2015 Benzle was awarded one of only four Individual Artist Fellowships in the Visual Art and Craft categories by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
The Arrowmont School of Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Canton Art Institute, Canton, Ohio
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
Cultural Center, Seto, Japan
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio
Evanston Hospital, Evanston, Illinois
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Firestone Corporation, Akron, Ohio
First Bank of Savannah, Savannah, Georgia
Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
Kitakyushu Folk Art and Craftsman’s Village, Kitakyushu, Japan
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California
Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Pepper Pike, Ohio
Museo Internazionale Delle Ceramiche, Faenze, Italy
Ohio Designer Craftsmen, Permanent Collection, Oxford, Ohio
San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo, Texas
School for the American Craftsman, Rochester, New York
Smithsonian Institution, National Collection of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Topeka Public Library, Topeka, Kansas
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
Wellingstraat Museum, Ghent, Belgium
White House Collection of Contemporary Crafts, Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, Arkansas
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"American Ceramics." Craftarts (January/March, 1985): 37.
Armburst, Margaret. "The Phoenix Lives." Ceramics Monthly, February 2004.
Axel, Jan, and Karen McCready. Porcelain, Traditions and New Visions. New York, NY: Watson-Guptill, 1981.
Benzle, Curtis. “Making Art or Making Artists.” Studio Potter 36 (Winter 2007): 41-43.
Burkett, Richard. Masters: Porcelain. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2007.
Carney, Margaret. Lithophanes. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishers, 2008.
Connell, Jo. Coloring Clay. London, England: A&C Black, 2007.
Herman, Lloyd. Art That Works. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1990.
_____________. American Porcelain, New Expressions in an Ancient Art. Portland, OR: Timber Press, l980.
Hopper, Robin. Making Marks: Discovering the Ceramic Surface. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2004.
_____________. Clay and Glazes for the Potter. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2000.
Koplos, Janet. "Curtis and Susan Benzle, Exhibitions." American Ceramics (June 1983).
Lane, Peter. Ceramic Form: Design and Decoration. New York, NY: Rizzoli, 2003.
_________. Contemporary Studio Porcelain. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
“Lithophanes; Contemporary Approach.” Ceramics Monthly, October 2007.
Lynn, Martha D. Clay Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work : a Catalogue of the Howard and Gwen Laurie Smits Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1990.
Miller, Brian. "Caressing Light." Ceramic Review, July/August 2007.
Ostermann, Matthias. Ceramics Surface Decoration: Contemporary Approaches & Techniques. London, England: A&C Black, 2001.
Tarkasis, Kostas. “Clay in Art.” Clay Art-International, Greece, 2005.
Tourtillott, Suzanne J. E., and Julie Hale. 500 Ceramic Sculptures: Contemporary Practice, Singular Works. New York, NY: Lark Books, 2009.
Waller, Jane. Colour in Clay. Marlborough, UK: Crowood Press, 1998.
Zakin, Richard. Electric Kiln Ceramics: A Potter's Guide to Clays and Glazes. Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Co, 1981.
_____________. Ceramics: Mastering the Craft. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001.
CV or RESUME: Click Here to Download
Source: benzleporcelain.com
WEBSITE(S):
Artist's Studio: Benzle Porcelain
Method: Slab-Built
Dimensions: H. 5.25 x D. 7 inchesSurface Technique: Overglaze
Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified February 13, 2024. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/benzle
