Plate Maker: Peter Voulkos (American, 1924–2002)

1973

American Decorative Arts

On view, 3rd floor, Modern and Contemporary Art and Design

From the late 1950s onwards, plates became a favored form for Peter Voulkos.  The broad surfaces allowed Voulkos to experiment with increasingly expressionistic decoration, transforming them from functional objects into sculpture.  Voulkos would slash, gouge, and otherwise deform the clay before firing.  The surface of this plate is disrupted by dents, fissures, and seven porcelain slugs, another signature element which Voulkos called "pass-throughs."

Medium

Stoneware and porcelain

Dimensions

3 3/4 × 18 in. (9.525 × 45.72 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Joann and Gifford Phillips, Class of 1942

Accession Number

2008.115.10

Geography

Made in Berkeley, California

Culture

American

Period

20th century

Classification

Containers

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Primus Gallery, New York, January 1973; sold to Joann Phillips (née Joann Kocher, 1928–2018) and Gifford Phillips (1918–2013), Santa Fe, N.M., January 1973; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2008
Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions 2009," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2009), 126
Object copyright
© Voulkos Family Trust
In Copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

plates (dishes), stoneware

Technical metadata and APIs

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