The Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
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Bernard Kester
1928 Born Salt Lake City, Utah
EDUCATION
1945 BA University of California, Los Angeles, California
1950 MA University of California, Los Angeles, California
—Graduate Study University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
—Graduate Study Scripps College, Claremont, California
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1954-1956 Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California
1956-1991 University of California, Los Angeles, California
1962 Freelance fabric design, Crawford & Stoughton, Los Angeles, California
1967 California State University, Fullerton, California
1981-1992 Principal Exhibition Designer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
BIOGRAPHY
Bernard Kester made a wide range of vessel forms inspired by mid-century California design. He primarily worked with stoneware but occasionally created pieces using porcelain.
Kester studied with Laura Andreson who was a strong influence. He studied textile design as well as ceramics at UCLA.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andreson, Laura and Bernard Kester. Laura Andreson, Ceramics. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Art Galleries, 1970.
Kaplan, Wendy. California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way”. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2011.
Kester, Bernard. American Crafts ’76: An Aesthetic View: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, IL: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1976.
____________. Made in LA: Contemporary Crafts ’81: A Bicentennial Celebration. Los Angeles, CA: Craft and Folk Art Museum, 1981.
____________. “Letter from Los Angeles.” Craft Horizons (each issue 1972-1975).
Tigerman, Bobbye, ed. A Handbook of California Design, 1930-1965: Craftspeople, Designers, Manufacturers. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2013.
Zaiden, Emily. Bernard Kester; Conduit for California’s New Crafts Movement. Los Angeles, CA: Craft in America, 2011.
Method: Thrown (Black matt glaze stencil, reduction fired.)
Surface Technique: Matt Glaze, Stencil
Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified May 4, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/kester
