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Robert Engle

Biography to Display: 

EDUCATION

BA Albion College, Albion, Michigan

MFA University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

 

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

Art Professor, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio                                                                                        

 

BIOGRAPHY

Robert Engle is known for developing screen printing and decal work in a noncommercial studio on functional wheel thrown white stoneware vessels.  He was part of the Pop Movement in the ceramics of the 1960’s..

 While Engle began his career as a more traditional potter, his iconic pots often feature screen printed photographs, mostly of celebrities, on his pots.

 In a Ceramics Monthly (January 1970) interview “The Man Behind the Faces,” Engle spoke about how a trip to Japan in the mid-60’s changed his approach to ceramics, and ultimately, the mark he wanted to leave on the art world. During this trip, Engle came to the conclusion that he did not want to be a craftsman, making safe, functional work, but an artist who pushed the boundaries of what could be. He began to engage with pop art because he liked its mixed media approach, and then began to combine photography with clay, to “break down the barriers between art and life[1].”

[1] Roger D. Bonham, “Robert Engle: The Man Behind the Faces,” Ceramics Monthly, Jan. 1970, pg. 12-15.


 

 

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography to Display: 

Bonham, Roger D. “Robert Engle: The Man Behind the Faces.” Ceramics Monthly  (January 1970).

Goldman, Caren. “Picture Pots.” Ceramics Monthly (January 1968).

 

 

 

 

Center for CraftCenter For Craft

 

 

AMOCA American Museum of Ceramic ArtAMOCA American Museum of Ceramic Art

 

Typical Marks

“Engle” written in cursive, in slip, on the bottom of pots.

1970
Vase
Date: 1970
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze, Transfer or Decal Decorated
American Museum of Ceramic Art, gift of The American Ceramic Society, 2004.2.285
Photo: TMP
American Museum of Ceramic Art, gift of The American Ceramic Society, 2004.2.285
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP

Citation: Beul, Jasmine. "The Marks Project." Last modified June 13, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/engle