Comment on this story What: Eva Zeisel: The Playful Search for Beauty When: Thru June 20 Where: Knoxville Museum of Art Cost: $5, or free with KMA membership. An informal reception with Eva Zeisel will be held June 20 at 2 p.m. after a screening of the documentary Throwing Curves.

The sleek, curvaceous design of Eva Zeisel

by Ashley Brown

The KMA Design Lab stretches the definition of “museum-worthy” art. The great debate continues in classrooms, in coffeehouses, and in living rooms. Instead of the objects you may expect to see in its hallowed halls, the work in the KMA Design Lab introduces and reminds visitors of the elements of art present in life. Past subjects include architecture, planning, and even sound. The lab reinforces the argument for design in the living environment—art we can use and enjoy every day.

The current exhibition of Eva Zeisel’s work examines the beauty and function of household objects. The retrospective traces the career of the ceramist and designer from a Hungarian potter’s apprentice to an innovator in manufacturing and design in the Soviet Union and the United States. “The designer’s inspiration is his generous intent to give,” Zeisel explains. “His profession, like that of a musician, must be an act of love, of communicating pleasure.” Through her work, we see the love and pleasure that this 97-year-old artist conveys in her craft.

Zeisel was born in a vivacious Hungarian family in 1906. Her parents nurtured her creative talents by encouraging her to pursue her love for painting. She studied with avant-garde artists and briefly at Budapest’s Academy of Fine Arts. However, the inspiration of an aunt’s collection of traditional pottery influenced Zeisel to leave the academy to pursue ceramics.

Zeisel’s earliest forms reflect the influence of the Hungarian culture and of the pottery in the region. A sugar bowl, produced by Kispester Granit in 1926, shows the traditional motifs of the native craft. Brightly painted birds and other symbols found in Hungarian art adorn the vessel. The birds represent family and are a salute to her mother and grandmother, the nourishing mentors in her life. The theme of family continues to influence Zeisel’s work throughout her career.

Her work also shows the reflection of the design movements of the time. The geometric and sleek influences of the Bauhaus and the International Style of architecture permeate her designs, as does the need to industrialize and manufacture her craft. Echoing smooth curves and shapes, her ceramics developed in the Soviet Union are designed for efficient use of the kiln and storage in communal living. Teacups stack to prevent chipping. Simple shapes clean and store easily.

Zeisel’s career traces not only the artistic movements of the 20th century, but also the political events of the time. She survived imprisonment in the Soviet Union and the evacuation from the Nazi invasion. These significant events in her life unite congenial, familial shapes with efficient practicality in her designs.

Zeisel adjusted quickly to her new home in the United States in the midst of the post-war boom. In her work of the era, the influence of the theme of family returns. Manufactured by Red Wing Pottery in 1945-6, Zeisel’s colorful shapes in her Town and Country series offer a whimsical approach to the new buffet and barbecue social events of post-war America. Zeisel referred to the designs as “a happy, friendly family surrounding your own.” The soft forms, in mixed and matched colors, melt onto the table, as the casserole dishes invite you to peek inside. For the first time in the exhibition, I was immediately aware of the Plexiglas barrier that prevented me from opening the lids and seeing what is for supper. The salt and peppershakers from Town and Country are two figures, shaped like squash, and are sometimes called “schmoos.” These ceramic forms cradle one another like the embrace of a mother and child. “Look, my life is a total unexpected gift. For months I was dead. You feel the difference in the way you see colors. It’s because of the deprivation,” Zeisel explains the effects of her experiences on her designs.

In the United States, Zeisel developed ceramics for Hall China, Red Wing Pottery, Sears, Roebuck, and Co., Castleton China, and Riverside China Company. The designs continued to echo the nurturing elements of family. Even later works, developed for KleinReid in 1999, evoke the bond of relationships. A grouping of vessels, upright vases from the Eva series, resembles soft shapes huddled together. A matriarch vessel huddles with family members, forming a strong fortress of shelter. The vases can be displayed individually, but the impact and strength of the vases is within the assembly.

Zeisel’s designs for everyday use evoke the power of family and relationships to serve as modern talismans in our lives. Her plates and vases serve not only as tools, but the silent observers of our own private existence. Don’t miss the chance to view the work of Eva Zeisel at KMA. It may stretch your definition of “museum-worthy” and provide a counterpoint in the next discussion at the coffeehouse.

Ashley Brown, a local art enthusiast, is the Director of Development for the UT College of Architecture and Design. Regular art critic Heather Joyner Spica and husband Mac became parents of a son, Paolo Taylor, on May 16. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

May 27, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 22 © 2004 Metro Pulse