Status message

Your information has been submitted.

   Printer version

Donald Reitz

Biography to Display: 

1929 Born Sunbury, Pennsylvania

2014 Died Clarksdale, Arizona

 

EDUCATION

1957BS Art Education, Kutztown State College, Kutztown, Pennsylvania

1962MFA New York State School of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1962-1988Faculty, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

BIOGRAPHY 

Don Reitz is best known for sculptural pieces that grew out of wheel-thrown functional work that is characterized by symmetry and simple lines.

 Reitz began salt firing while at Alfred and then pursued a life-long investigation of salt and wood firing that almost single-handedly revived these neglected techniques. His work shows the results of this study. He used various slips and oxides to achieve surfaces that run from dry to slick, and carry colors previously unknown in wood-fired pieces. Examples of his use of color are the pieces he created as a result of an auto accident and the illness of niece, Sara, after whom he named this series. The pieces in this series are typically composed of a chalk white area with bright red, yellow and blue contrasted against an unglazed area.

An interview with Don Reitz conducted June 6 and 7, 2006  by Mija Riedel for the Archives of American Art’s Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America is available from http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-don-reitz-13546.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Public Collections to Display: 

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

Brandt’s Kloedefabrik, Odenese, Denmark

Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Missouri

Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio

Chasen Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin

Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio

Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii

Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri

de Young Museum, San Francisco, California

Erishu Art Museum, Himeji, Japan

Gilmore Art Center, Kalamazoo, Missouri

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

Horikodden Art Center, Oslo, Norway

Houston Museum of Art, Houston, Texas

Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Kutztown State University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California

Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

Mudgee Art Museum, Mudgee, Australia

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts

Nippon Castle Research Center, Himeji, Japan

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art,Utah State University, Logan, Utah

Palmerston University, Palmerston, North New Zealand

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian Institution, Building of Science and Industry, Washington,  D.C.

Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota

Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art, Scottsdale, Arizona

Weismann Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography to Display: 

Clowes, Jody. Don Reitz: Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood. Madison, WI: Chazen Museum of ArtJun 20, 2005

Don Reitz, et al. The Soul of a Bowl. Portland, OR: Crafts Museum & Gallery.

Hendricks, Charles, et al. “Salt Glaze Ceramics by Don Reitz,” New York, NY: American Crafts Council, 1972.

Levin, Elaine. The History of American Ceamics from Pipkins and Bean Pots to Contemporary Forms. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988.

Nordness, Lee. Objects:USA. New York, NY: The Viking Press, 1970.

 

CV or RESUME: Click Here to Download

CV or RESUME: Click Here to Download
Source: Elaine Levin Archive, University of Southern California

 

 

Center for CraftCenter For Craft

 

 

AMOCA American Museum of Ceramic ArtAMOCA American Museum of Ceramic Art

 

Typical Marks

"Reitz" signed, incised in clay at base

"Reitz" signed at base

"Reitz" incised with oversized "Z" at base

"Reitz" signed in dark green slip on white rectangle, as well as handprint at base

 

ca 1965
ca 1970
1970-1972
ca 1985
1987
1992
1993
Double Wall Footed Bowl
Date: ca 1965
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Surface Technique: Glaze
E John Bullard Collection
E John Bullard Collection
Hanging Basket
Date: 1969
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Dimensions: 5.7 inches in diameter
American Museum of Ceramic Art, gift of The American Ceramic Society, 2004.2.359_2004.2.359
Photo: TMP
American Museum of Ceramic Art, gift of The American Ceramic Society, 2004.2.359_2004.2.359
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Covered Jar with Branch Finial
Date: ca 1970
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered, Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze, Salt Fired
E John Bullard Collection
E John Bullard Collection
Broccoli Bowl
Date: ca 1970-1972
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered, Carved
Surface Technique: Glaze
E. John Bullard Collection
E. John Bullard Collection
Trophy Bowl
Date: 1976
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown, Hand-Built
Dimensions: 9.5 x 16 x 14.5"
Surface Technique: Glaze
E John Bullard Collection
E John Bullard Collection
Think You Must and Than Maybe You Can
Date: 1980-1990
Form: Wall Hanging
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Photo: Daniel Swadener
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Sara Series Shield
Date: 1983
Form: Wall Hanging
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Photo: Daniel Swadener
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Monumental Covered Jar from Sarah Series
Date: ca 1985
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Dimensions: 30" x 38" x 20"
Surface Technique: Glaze
E. John Bullard Collection, Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, November 12, 2016, Lot #82
E. John Bullard Collection, Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, November 12, 2016, Lot #82
This Too Will Pass!! Platter-Sarah Series
Date: ca 1985
Materials: Earthenware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Dimensions: 2.5" x 22" x 22"
Surface Technique: Glaze, Incised
E. John Bullard Collection
E. John Bullard Collection
Do You Think I Would Forget?
Date: 1987
Form: Platter
Materials: Earthenware
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Engobe, Glaze
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Photo: John Polak
Untitled
Date: 1993
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy of The Nevica Project
Courtesy of The Nevica Project
Teastack Sculpture
Date: 2008
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Photo: Daniel Swadener
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Wood Fired Bowl
Date: 2008
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Photo: Daniel Swadener
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Tower Down Sculpture
Date: 2009
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Photo: Daniel Swadener
Courtesy Reitz Family Trust
Tower Sculpture with Three Rings
Date: ca 2009
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered, Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Incised, Polychrome
E. John Bullard Collection, Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, ex. Estate of Candice B. Groot, lot 78, April 16, 2016
E. John Bullard Collection, Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, ex. Estate of Candice B. Groot, lot 78, April 16, 2016
Tea Bowl
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Carved, Glaze
Courtesy of The Nevica Project
Courtesy of The Nevica Project
Yunomi
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Robert and Christel Harrison Collection
Photo: TMP
Robert and Christel Harrison Collection
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Once You Accept Life is Difficult-Figuring is Too Hard, It Isn't- Knowing is Real-Sooner or Later You Have to Start Working Without the Net
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Stoneware, Wood
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 41.5 x 21.75"
Surface Technique: Glaze, Paint
Courtesy Rago Arts and Auctions
Courtesy Rago Arts and Auctions
Large Pitcher
Date: ca 1976
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Surface Technique: Salt Fired
E John Bullard Collection
E John Bullard Collection

Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified July 22, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/reitz

TAGS

Madison, Wisconsin, Alfred, New York, Dover, New Jersey , American Museum of Ceramic Arts, AMOCA, The American Ceramic Society, ACerS, Center for Craft , CfC