Grayson Perry, the 2003 winner of the annual Turner Prize, the most prestigious award in Britain for contemporary art, makes classically shaped, highly glazed pots. Perry’s win is a signal that ceramic artwork has come of age, especially in the blue chip world of fine art. Prices also demonstrate a new stature for this genre. For example, Jeff Koons’ porcelain figurine “Michael Jackson with Bubbles” fetched $5.6 million at auction—only slightly less than the highest price ever paid for an antique Chinese porcelain, which sold last year for $5.8 million.

Why this enthusiasm for feats of clay? Contemporary clay artists are working in an astounding variety of ways, both conventional and non-conventional, referencing styles from the past and at the same time, defying them. “Viewers respond to the many layers of ideas involved with the interplay of two and three dimensions,” says Leslie Ferrin, owner of the Ferrin Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts. And for the most part, the artists have conjured up bewildering forms and shapes—often highly decorative and enigmatic—that are new to the ceramic world.

“The artists’ ideas are fascinating and provocative,” adds ceramics historian and dealer Garth Clark, who together with Mark Del Vecchio owns the Garth Clark Gallery with two New York locations, one in Manhattan, the other in Long Island City. According to Clark, the so-called fine-art ceramics market is still in its infancy as it is less than 50 years old. To put this in perspective: Peter Voulkos, a true American genius of abstract ceramics, had a Museum of Modern Art show in 1960, but it was only when Clark exhibited his work in the 1980s that collectors became seriously interested.

Ferrin finds that painting collectors have crossed over into ceramics, drawn to not only the provocative forms but also the quality of the works. “Sergei Isupov has a solid sales history with fine art collectors who are attracted to his work by its strong narrative content,” she says. Isupov’s porcelain figures have a definite personality. In his porcelain two-legged figures—one of which Ferrin recently sold for $20,000—the front of each resembles a cartoon, while the back features an intimate painting of the being’s spirit.

Where to Begin
One of the most important aspects of buying ceramics can’t be learned from books, museums or galleries, though it is helpful to recognize how artists like Voulkos were influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art and Color Field painting. Ceramics is an art of the hand as well as the eye. These works need to be touched, examined under different kinds of light and studied from varying perspectives. Nothing can replace wrapping your fingers around a work and, whenever possible, getting a sensual as well as visual reaction. What counts is your visceral and intuitive response. Even large sculptures beg to be touched. “Allow your feeling and responses to a particular artist’s work to guide you,” Clark advises.

Technique
In general, an artist buys clay, manipulates it by hand or on a wheel in a variety of forming techniques, dries the work, glazes it and fires it once or several times. The finished surface might require additional processing, such as carving, coloring with acrylic paints, sandblasting or firing on low-temperature decals or painted enamels. When it comes to collecting ceramics, your visceral reaction is more important than the fundamentals of technique. “Technique is merely an act, learned by repetition and the handling of clay,” says Clark. In other words, if a piece is well-formed—the colors are consistent, the joints solid and stable—then you shouldn’t notice craftsmanship. What’s important is innovation. Even checking the consistency of the glaze is misleading, since fractured glaze may be part of an artist’s aesthetic.

Terms
Beware of referring to ceramic sculpture as “terra cotta.” The term “ceramic” refers to clay that has been fired. Terra cotta is basically a red, unglazed, unfired material. Depending on the heat of the fire, a work will be called earthenware if it is low- to medium-fired, while stoneware and porcelain are fired at extremely high heat. Earthenware is porous, while stoneware and porcelain are more fully vitrified and less porous.

Forms
The two main forms are the vessel (pots, bowls, plates) and the figure (everything from structural fantasies
to monumental sculptures). Ceramists might reinterpret old forms, create new ones, stack, piece, collage or crack an object, and in the process elevate the practical to the poetic. For example, Alev Ebuzziya Siesbye works in a familiar vessel form, and her refined bowls are simultaneously classic and contemporary. Ken Price’s recent works are small, biomorphic, undulating forms with the surface of polished rocks. Richard Shaw, another key figure, mimics everyday objects in his trompe l’oeil sculptures. And the wildly flamboyant dream images of Michael Lucero are what Del Vecchio calls “reinvented cultural icons.” Because they are not affected by room temperature changes or strong light, ceramic artworks can be placed just about anywhere—in the kitchen, on a sunny window ledge, even a powder room.

Money Matters
Prices for top artists have skyrocketed. Voulkos’ work jumped from about $1,000 in the 1980s to $200,000. However, some of the masters are still affordable, says Frank Lloyd, owner of an eponymous gallery in Santa Monica, California. “A small-scale piece by Adrian Saxe, an established giant in the ceramics world, might sell for around $4,500, whereas a huge Saxe installation piece mounted on a table is a staggering $90,000,” he says.

Study Tours
Gallery owners recommend that those interested in collecting ceramics become actively involved by joining museums, attending lectures, demonstrations and conferences, and going on ceramic study tours. For example, Ferrin organizes regional study tours of artists’ studios and collections on behalf of the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine. The Frank Lloyd Gallery also sponsors educational programs and helps regional and national museum groups organize tours of exhibitions, museums, collections and studios. In addition, the Friends of Contemporary Ceramics publishes a newsletter and organizes an annual study trip in the United States or overseas.

For more information
Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, Mass. (413) 637-4414.
Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, Calif. (310) 264-3866.
Friends of Contemporary Ceramics. lindon114@aol.com.
Garth Clark Gallery, New York City. (212) 246-2205. Long Island City, (718) 706-2491.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (323) 857-6000. 
Museum of Arts & Design, New York City. (212) 956-3535.
The Newark Museum, Newark, N.J. (973) 596-6550.
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wis. (262) 638-8300.
The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. (607) 871-2421.
Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, Maine. (207) 882-6075.

References
Color and Fire, Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950–2000, edited by Jo Lauria (St. Martins Press, 2001).
Postmodern Ceramics by Mark Del Vecchio (Thames & Hudson, 2001).
Great Pots: Contemporary Ceramics from Function to Fantasy by Ulysses Grant Dietz (Guild Publishing, 2003).
Shards: Garth Clark on Ceramic Art, edited by John Pagliaro (Ceramic Arts Foundation and Distributed Art Publications, 2003).
20th Century Ceramics by Edmund de Waal (Thames & Hudson, 2003).