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1927Born Bushnell, Illinois
1998Died Seattle, Washington
EDUCATION
1950BA University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
1953BFA School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
1955MFA University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
WORK EXPERIENCE
1955-1982Faculty, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
RESIDENCIES AND APPRENTICESHIPS
1954Artist in Residence, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana
BIOGRAPHY
Robert Sperry’s vessels are wheel thrown stonewares with dynamic surfaces of crawling or crackled glaze. Sperry applied a heavy slip layer over a dark glaze that created a contrast with the surface to achieve his desired effects. His signature style became bold, crackled white on black bowls, platters, murals, and sculptures.
At times, Sperry added bright colors, but primarily he worked in black and white. Sperry embraced clay as an artistic medium for expression and is stylistically affiliated with the group of Abstract Expressionist ceramic artists. Sperry incorporated broad and diverse influences including Asian ceramic traditions and Scandinavian ceramic trends.
Sperry first handled clay in 1945 while a G.I. serving in Germany during World War II. His early career was influenced by meeting both Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio at the Archie Bray Foundation in 1954.
Although known primarily as a ceramic sculptor, in the 1960s Sperry shifted his shifted his focus to filmmaking and traveled to document Japanese folk potters in "Village Potters of Onda" (1966). At the end of the 1960s, he returned to functional pottery. The 1970s were a decade of experimentation. Sperry flirted with funk but quickly moved on to explore the lusters and finally focused on the black and white crackle and crawl glazes for which he is known.
An interview with Robert Sperry conducted August 11, 1983, by LaMar Harrington for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project is available at:
http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-robert-sperry-13172.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California
Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C.
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, Washington
Washington State University Museum, Pullman, Washington
Weisman Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rupp, James. Art in Seattle's Public Places. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1992.
Peterson, Susan. The Art & Craft of Clay. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall, 1990.
Perry, Barbara. American Ceramics: The Collection of the Everson Museum of Art. Syracuse, NY: Everson Museum of Art, 1989.
Levin, Elaine. History of American Ceramics. New York, NY: Abrams, 1988.
Kangas, Matthew. Robert Sperry: A Retrospective. Bellevue, WA: Bellevue Art Museum, 1985.
______________ . Robert Sperry: Bright Abyss. Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2009.
Kelly, Jeff. Potters and Prints. Ketchum, ID: Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities, 1985.
McTwiggen, Michael. Surface and Form: A Union of Polarities in Contemporary Ceramics. Pomona, CA: National Museum of Ceramic Art, 1989.
CV or RESUME: Click Here to Download
Source: Elaine Levin Archive, University of Southern California
Artist's Studio: Sperry/Warashina
Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified August 8, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/sperry