The Cup: Chuck Hindes - Iowa City, IA

Chuck Hindes Teabowl Nezumi Shino
(3 x 5 inches) CUP 090 $350

My work has two primary inspirations.  First, the Japanese aesthetic that views imperfection and irregularity as forms of beauty; second, more on a subconscious level, the Abstract Expressionist painting movement.

My pots are hand built in a manner that allows the natural development of gesture and asymmetry.  These two characteristics are the genuine result of the forming process, not an affectation.  This construction method preserves the natural, inherent, plastic quality of the clay.

Chuck Hindes Teabowl reduction cooled
(2.75 x 4.75 inches) CUP 091 $350

The processes of saggar and wood firing have provided me with a viable vehicle for surface articulation and enrichment.  These firing methods create a varied palette of colors and textures.  The intense interaction of fire and clay composes a distinct façade.  The pot is riddled with textural imperfections and irregular non-descript patterns of color.  These highly sought after characteristics are to be appreciated as positive attributes and not perceived as defects or flaws.

Chuck Hindes Teabowl Yaki-Shima
(3.5 x 4 inches) CUP 092 $350

Those mottled surfaces of color and texture forge an indelible record of the entire firing.  That composition documents conclusively the journey of the flame and the aggressive atmosphere generated within the kiln.  The resulting image reflects the effect that Abstract Expressionism has had on my work.

In spite of their active physical posture, I view my pots as a quiet read, a read requiring a thorough, up-close perusal.

Chuck Hindes Teabowl pit fired
(3.5 x 4.75 inches) CUP 093 $350

EDUCATION:     MFA, Rhode Island School of Design; BFA, University of Illinois, Champagne; 1961-1963, Wisconsin State College, River Falls, WI.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:  1973-2006, Professor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; 1972-1973, Adjunct Professor, Rhode Island School of Design; 1969-1972, Instructor, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

GRANTS:   1973-2006, Five Sabbatical leaves, The University of Iowa; 1974, Craftsman Fellowship, NEA; 1970, Summer Research Grant, University of Florida; 1968, Summer Residency, Archie Bray Foundation.

WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES:   Archie Bray Foundation, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School, Cub Creek Foundation, Red Lodge Clay Center, Anderson Ranch, RISD, Cranbrook, Chicago Art Institute, University of Georgia, Utah State University, University of Minnesota, University of Manitoba, Cleveland Art Institute

EXHIBITIONS:   2011 Yunomi Invitational – Akar Gallery; 2011 Two Person (Ron Meyers), Baylor University; 2009 “Soft Beauty of Traditional Shinos”, Concord University; “Drawn and Created”, Lil Street Gallery, Chicago; “Different Stokes”, International Woodfire Invitational, The University of Iowa; “Ashen Beauty”, Traveling Woodfire Exhibition; “2^nd International Ceramic Competition”, Mino, Japan; “A Century of Ceramics in the US, Everson Museum; 31^st Annual Scripps Invitational, Scripps College.

COLLECTIONS:  Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Museum; Archie Bray Foundation; Everson Museum; St. Louis Museum of Art; International Museum of Ceramics, Alfred University; numerous private collections.