Ken Price (USA, 1935–2012) was a celebrated sculptor and ceramicist renowned for his vibrant, biomorphic forms. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and craft, his works often featured richly textured surfaces and vivid colors. Price’s pioneering approach to ceramics transformed perceptions of the medium and influenced generations of artists.
Screen-print Screen printing is a technique where ink is transferred through a mesh onto a substrate, with areas blocked by a stencil to prevent ink from passing through. This method, also known as serigraphy or silkscreen printing, is commonly used to produce prints on posters, T-shirts, vinyl, stickers, wood, and other materials. The process is a type of stencil printing, allowing for vibrant, detailed designs on various surfaces.
Ken Price (USA, 1935–2012) was a celebrated sculptor and ceramicist renowned for his vibrant, biomorphic forms. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and craft, his works often featured richly textured surfaces and vivid colors. Price’s pioneering approach to ceramics transformed perceptions of the medium and influenced generations of artists.
I was always making art in one way or another. I wanted to be an artist as far back as I can remember.
- Ken Price
Recognised for his abstract ceramic works, Ken Price was an artist inspired by Mexican folk-art and geology - a lot of his ceramics resemble sliced geodes and biomorphic blobs, featuring sloping edges and plump forms. Foregoing the popular method of glazing, Price would paint his works with bright acrylics and finish by sanding them down to reveal the rich colours beneath, as exhibited in works such as Jewel of the Rim and Variant. Studying in Japan, Price was influenced by the works of Japanese ceramicists and his earliest sculptures were small-scale, yet exquisite pieces; towards the end of his career, his sculptures began to take a larger, more bulbous form while retaining a quirky, abstract finish. Asides from his ceramics, Price created extensively through the form of watercolour paintings – as with his ceramics, his paintings depicted nature-inspired forms in acidic colour against flat landscapes – Hot Bottoms is perhaps his most notable painting.
Contemporary art refers to avant-garde or innovative art created in the recent past or present day. The exact starting point of contemporary art varies depending on the institution, often tied to the founding year of museums or galleries that showcase the style. Contemporary art is characterized by its focus on current ideas, diverse media, and the exploration of new concepts and techniques.