Logrhythm

The late Howard Kottler (1930-89), former UW art professor and ceramist was influential in redefining the entire field of contemporary American ceramic art.  He and his artwork were exuberant, irreverent, and provocative.  By the mid-1960s, Kottler had succeeded in forging a link between his work and the major new directions in painting and sculpture.  Kottler came to consider himself an artist-potter, who sought to link ceramics to the broader context of the world of modern art, rather than a studio-potter who takes inspiration from ceramic history and tradition.

Kottler began his career with a traditional crafts orientation in the 1950s.  As a student, he had been trained in traditional ceramic techniques and glaze technology.  He earned his Masters degree from Ohio State.  He worked at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and at the Arabia Ceramic Factory in Finland with support of a Fulbright grant, studying the creation and application of ceramic decals.  He returned to Ohio State, where he received a Ph.D. in ceramics in 1964.  He joined the UW faculty in 1965.
Elaborating his ideas in compositions that are frequently astonishing, he created a body of late work that, in retrospect, has content and depth perhaps unparalleled in contemporary ceramics."