The Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Printer-friendly version 
Printer version
Justin Novak
1962 Born Canada
EDUCATION
1983 BFA Communications Design, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
1996 MFA Ceramics, State University of New York, New Paltz, New York
APPRENCICESHIPS AND RESIDENCIES
2001 Artist in Residence, International Ceramic Center, Skaelskor, Denmark
2003 Artist in Residence, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, Maine
2004 Arts/Industry Residency, Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisconsin
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1996-1999 Adjunct Professor, Rockland Community College
1997-1999 Instructor, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, New York
1997-2000 Adjunct Professor, State University of New York, New Paltz, New York
1999-2000 Adjunct Professor, City University, Jersey City, New Jersey
2000— Assistant Professor of Ceramics, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
2007— Associate Professor, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
BIOGRAPHY
Justin Novak is a ceramic sculptor whose work references the historic figurine.
He has produced two series of work that rethinks the traditional form typically associated with the good life. The “disfigurine” series presents subjects inflicting wounds on bodies either as cuts or bruises. The “21c Bunny” project highlights the nature of violent behavior and the response to constantly feeling you are a predator. Novak hand builds porcelain as in the “disfigurine” series and casts it as in the "21c Bunny" project. He uses various firing techniques including raku and electric kilns.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Grimmerhus Danish Museum of International Ceramic Art, Denmark
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
The Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Taipei County Yingge Museum of Art, Taipei, Taiwan
UMPRUM, Museum of Applied Art, Prague, Czech Republic
Porcelain Museum, Walbrzych, Poland
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, Tim. Raku. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2005.
Barnard, Rob, Natasha Daintry and Clare Twomey. Breaking the Mould: New Approaches to Ceramics. London, England: Black Dog Publishing, 2007.
Berelson, Ruth. “Bathing in the Sweat of a Faraway People.” American Ceramics (Spring 2000).
Brown, Glen R. “Justin Novak’s Rhetoric of Beauty.” Ceramics: Art and Perception 62 (2006).
Flynn, Michael. Ceramic Figures. London, England: A & C Black Publishers/Princeton University Press, 2002.
Hubbard, Patricia. “The Function of Beauty.” Ceramics: Art and Perception (2001).
Lark Books. 500 Figures in Clay: Ceramic Artists Celebrate the Human Form. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2004.
Lark Books. The Penland Book of Ceramics. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2003.
Lombardi, D. Dominick. “Works Created as Reactions to Injustices.” The New York Times, April 25, 1999.
Novak, Justin and Bryan Hopkins. “Paying Attention.” Ceramics: Art and Perception 61 (2005).
Raynor, Vivian. ”From a Partnership of Elements to a Show of Playfulness.” The New York Times, February 23, 1997.
Schwartz, Judith. “A New Generation of American Ceramic Artists.” Kerameiki Techni 41 (2003).
Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified April 14, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org:443/marks/novak
