MAKERS
Shiro Otani
Byron Temple...
Rudolph Staffel
Michael Cardew...
A Basketmaker...
Jeff Oestreich
Byron...
contents
Shiro Otani
Byron Temple...
Rudolph Staffel
Michael Cardew...
A Basketmaker...
Jeff Oestreich
Byron...
contents
Rudolf Staffel 1 2 - PRINTER VERSION
>> else. Light Gatherer, 1984, is an example of how much feeling and excitement Staffel can put into a small vase. It is only five and a half inches high, with a narrow, articulated foot and a mouth that is almost as wide as the vase is tall. Staffel has squared it by pushing his finger on the inside, up through the porcelain, creating on the outside four distinct vertical ridges. On one of these planes is a deeply incised, fluid drawing that climbs over the lip of the vase and then seems to jump across it to continue on the inside of the opposite wall. In Vase, 1988, we see this dialogue between the inside and outside again as Staffel alternately pushes his finger almost through the wall of the vase from the inside and then the outside to form a knobbed surface that simultaneously collapses inward and explodes outward. The well-defined foot and lip compress and intensify the energy contained in the dented, fissured surface. lt all appears so utterly simple that one can't help wondering why it is so moving.
In this and in other successful pieces, translucence plays a part, but it is not the element that makes the work so strong. Included in the exhibition were three bronze chalice forms done in 1967. They are about 18 to 20 inches high and have the same plastic quality as Staffel's hand built vases constructed with overlapping patches of porcelain. Staffel has given up translucence for the tensile strength of bronze; which allows these chalices to have the height, gracefulness and sense of permanence impossible in clay. The bronzes are every bit as moving as any of the porcelains and show that it is Staffel's creative intelligence, not the inherent properties of any given material that makes his vessels so powerful.
It is a healthy sign that a field previously preoccupied with the ostentatious, self-important and boastful is broadening its criteria for significance to include subtle and sensitive statements by unassuming artists like Rudolf Staffel. One can only hope that this welcome trend continues, and that Staffel's work will enjoy the critical scrutiny it deserves.
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© 1980 - 2025 Rob Barnard . All Rights Reserved. Site design: eismontdesign
>> else. Light Gatherer, 1984, is an example of how much feeling and excitement Staffel can put into a small vase. It is only five and a half inches high, with a narrow, articulated foot and a mouth that is almost as wide as the vase is tall. Staffel has squared it by pushing his finger on the inside, up through the porcelain, creating on the outside four distinct vertical ridges. On one of these planes is a deeply incised, fluid drawing that climbs over the lip of the vase and then seems to jump across it to continue on the inside of the opposite wall. In Vase, 1988, we see this dialogue between the inside and outside again as Staffel alternately pushes his finger almost through the wall of the vase from the inside and then the outside to form a knobbed surface that simultaneously collapses inward and explodes outward. The well-defined foot and lip compress and intensify the energy contained in the dented, fissured surface. lt all appears so utterly simple that one can't help wondering why it is so moving.
In this and in other successful pieces, translucence plays a part, but it is not the element that makes the work so strong. Included in the exhibition were three bronze chalice forms done in 1967. They are about 18 to 20 inches high and have the same plastic quality as Staffel's hand built vases constructed with overlapping patches of porcelain. Staffel has given up translucence for the tensile strength of bronze; which allows these chalices to have the height, gracefulness and sense of permanence impossible in clay. The bronzes are every bit as moving as any of the porcelains and show that it is Staffel's creative intelligence, not the inherent properties of any given material that makes his vessels so powerful.
It is a healthy sign that a field previously preoccupied with the ostentatious, self-important and boastful is broadening its criteria for significance to include subtle and sensitive statements by unassuming artists like Rudolf Staffel. One can only hope that this welcome trend continues, and that Staffel's work will enjoy the critical scrutiny it deserves.
<<
© 1980 - 2025 Rob Barnard . All Rights Reserved. Site design: eismontdesign