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Howard Kottler was a ceramicist, and professor of ceramics at the University of Washington, who influenced the direction of American ceramics throughout his career. This self-portrait represents his last body of work, that explored themes of identity and relationships. Usually two-dimensional, Kottler created a three-dimensional silhouette to be viewed in the round. He used slab clay as the structure, accented with ceramic chunks and mirrored mosaic. The back of the piece utilizes the “Rubin’s vase” illusion, where a pair of facing portraits forces the creation of the internal negative space that appears as a vase.
Gift of the Trustees of the Howard Kottler Testamentary Trust