Ceramic Collection

Works made of clay are, to date, the most collected at RAM. Exploring late-twentieth-century issues in the medium, the collection features a wide range of artists who examine function, ornament, decoration, and abstraction as well as allegory and narrative. Not only are there sculptures, reliefs, and vessels, there is also adornment. Artists represented with work in clay include Rose Cabat, Cristina Córdova, Eddie Dominguez, Viola Frey, James Lovera, Maria Martinez, Karen Theussen Massaro, Gertrud and Otto Natzler, Richard Notkin, Adrian Saxe, Richard Shaw, Esther Shimazu, Kim Simonsson, Kevin Snipes, Akio Takamori, Kukuli Velarde, Jason Walker, Kurt Weiser, and Beatrice Wood.

In addition and, as is true with all facets of RAM’s collections policy, multiple examples by a single artist are acquired to demonstrate his or her process of development over a period of time. Ceramic archive artists—with works numbering twenty or more—include Annette Corcoran, Sandra Byers, Ruth Duckworth, Jack Earl, Michael Lucero, Don Reitz, Mara Superior, and Toshiko Takaezu.

Another notable highlight is the presence of over 500 contemporary teapots—mostly made of clay, yet also including metal, fiber, and other media—a portion of the collection launched in 1999 when Donna Moog gifted 255 ceramic teapots.

Below is a sample of RAM’s growing ceramic collection.