Andy Shaw
Six Piece Place Setting

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Artist Andy Shaw(American, born 1969)American, born 1969

CultureAmerican

Titles

Six Piece Place Setting

Date2010

PlaceBaton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

MediumPorcelain

Dimensions.1, Platter: 2 7/8 × 13 1/4 × 13 1/4 in. (7.4 × 33.7 × 33.7 cm)
.2, Dinner plate: 1 1/4 × 10 3/8 in. diameter (3.2 × 26.4 cm)
.3, Lunch plate: 1 × 8 3/4 in. diameter (2.5 × 22.2 cm)
.4, Bowl: 2 1/2 × 6 in. diameter (6.4 × 15.2 cm)
.5, Pasta plate: 2 × 9 5/8 × 9 1/2 in. (5.1 × 24.4 × 24.1 cm)
.6, Tumbler: 4 7/8 × 3 1/8 in. diameter (12.4 × 7.9 cm)

Credit LineGarth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection, gift of Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio

Object number2011.288.1-.6

Not on view

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Department

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Special Collections

Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection of Contemporary Ceramics

Object Type

CERAMICS

ProvenanceThe artist, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio; given to MFAH, 2011.
Exhibition HistoryAndy Shaw’s dining services continue a long-standing tradition of designers formalizing models for utilitarian wares for the home. Yet instead of creating industrially made sets, he introduces the handmade into everyday life, thereby bringing a set of specific values to its daily rituals. He aims to “reconnect individuals to creative and purposeful expression through the making and use of handmade pottery.” For Shaw, “what I see in pots is the human ability in myself to be able to make something of value. . . . Through the creativity I learned to become more myself and I was able to do so by allowing the potential of my human-ness to emerge. Why assume other people or anonymous people make things? Why not assume that behind every object is a human or a group of them? I wanted to see myself as being the source for something physical and seeing that thing affirm the very basic nature of my existence and the value of that existence.”

Shaw is also very interested in the relationship between food and the objects on which it is served. His acknowledgment of a cook’s varied food choices, aesthetic impulses, and presentation needs can be seen in his use of a neutral color for his sets, allowing the pieces to adapt to individual preferences and tastes. Shaw also has a thriving commission business, thereby further involving himself with the practical desires and conceptual ideas of the consumer.

Shaw’s dining services are composed of deceptively simple wheel-thrown shapes. He favors round forms for their consistency, envisioning how they will work either stacked or placed singly on a table. His method of creating designs on their exteriors unifies the surface and structure; texture and pattern do not overwhelm the form but rather bring it into balance. To create his surface designs, Shaw uses a technique called “water carving,” in which wax resist is brushed onto the dry porcelain in the desired pattern. Once dry, a wet sponge is wiped across the surface, dissolving the exposed clay, which results in a light surface texture. The overall effect is further softened by the cool palette of the glaze, which brings to mind Asian celadon porcelains.

Shaw embellishes his wares, as seen here, with patterns that range from geometric repetition to organic movement. The seemingly rigorous geometric patterns actually contain subtle but perceivable differences across the entire compositional grid. These are the result of Shaw’s hand-drawing process and reflect his desire to learn something from each piece. On the other end of his decorative spectrum, the loose, organic lines, depressions, and shapes of the pasta plate and platter reinforce innate characteristics of clay. The rims and decorative swirls undulate, rising and dipping in a manner that recalls the fluidity of the material as it is formed on a wheel.

Shaw is part of a younger generation of ceramists who are working within the vein of utilitarian pottery. Rather than simply revive traditions, they are reinvigorating the field through their contemporary design interventions and their commitment to the handmade as a means of transforming aspects of people’s lives. Through their collective work, the future of functional pottery as a thriving, valued discipline is assured.

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