Wright Auction

This 1981 Peter Voulkos Stack, entitled Zeus, represents a top tier example fired in my Piermont, NY anagama kiln. This is a signature work, outstanding in both its form and fired quality. It was fired in the firebox, a space which was always reserved for the best pieces; resulting effects from this placement include the golden ash, rich iron red color, and subtle patinas. Kiln scars are not uncommon in high-risk areas of the kiln, occurring more often on firebox pieces. Judging wood-fired work is very subjective, but these are the considerations for determining the quality of an object. Notably, throughout the early 1990s Voulkos was still in command of every aspect of fabrication, including wheelwork.

This is a signature work, outstanding in both its form and fired quality.

Following years of fabricating large scale bronze sculptures in the late 1960s, Voulkos returned to ceramic production in 1973. My collaboration with him began in 1979 and as part of our arrangement he was given the lion’s share portion of the firebox real estate. This experience greatly influenced his aesthetic evolution, both in form and scale, and closed the chapter on his mechanically inspired bronze work. What emerged was an organic use of the material echoing Japanese and other Asian influences on his work.

In 1985 Voulkos retired from the University of California, Berkeley and turned his full-time efforts to the production of woodfired ceramics and monumental stacks. Notably, in 1981 he had returned to working in his Oakland studio, focusing solely on clay work.

Peter Callas is a pioneering figure in the field of ceramics and built the first Anagama in North America in 1976. He has since become America’s preeminent authority on the Japanese wood-firing technique. An internationally acclaimed ceramist, he combines this ancient firing technique with the wabi-sabi aesthetic of imperfection and abstraction, resulting in energetic, dramatic works that pulse with life and appear to have been born straight from the fires of the earth.

An Anagama, in Japanese “cave kiln,” is a type of kiln that was brought to Japan from China via Korea in the 5th century AD, consisting of a single-chamber kiln built in a sloping tunnel shape with a firebox at one end and flue at the other. In an Anagama there is no physical barrier between the stoking space and the pottery space, allowing flame and ash to interact with the surface of the clay and, in contrast to electric or gas-fueled kilns, they are fueled solely by a continuous supply of firewood. The length of a firing depends on the size of the kiln and can vary anywhere from two to twelve days and the fire must be fed and stoked around the clock. The final appearance of pots depends on many factors including both the reached and sustained temperatures, the amount of ash, and the wetness of the walls and the pots themselves. It takes a vast amount of knowledge and skill to utilize the Anagama’s effects on pottery to their fullest potential: Peter Callas is one such master.

We sat down with Callas to discuss his life, work, and connection with the late, great Peter Voulkos.

Can you describe your artistic background, what drew you to ceramics, and why you decided to make it your life’s work?

My career in art began in college when I took a ceramics course in Nebraska. After transferring to The University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA in my sophomore year I became an art major and graduated in 1973. As an artist in resident at The Archie Bray Foundation I fell in love with the material and the process and decided to make it my life’s work. 

Do you come from a creative background? How did your family and the place that you come from shape you?

My parents were very inspirational to my interest in the arts. My stepfather was a Hot Jazz aficionado, so music was always in the background. Both my parents shared a passion for collecting fine art, especially French antiques, so growing up there was a treasure trove of art in our home.

How would you define the style of your work and its development? 

From the time I spent in the Pacific Northwest I grew to love nature’s rugged beauty. The Pacific Rim exposed me to Asian ceramics, especially Japanese ceramics, which help mold my style of abstract art in the wabi-sabi style.