Blue Wall
Blue Wall, 1959, John Mason. Ceramic. 96 x 252 x 8 in. Collection of the artist. © John Mason. Photo by Anthony Cuñha
On View at the Getty Center: Pacific Standard Time: Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950-1970
The energetic, monumental Blue Wall is perhaps the best example of “abstract expressionist ceramics” ever produced. To create this sculpture, Mason built heavy-duty easels, which provided a flat surface for sculpting a multisectioned relief that extended both horizontally and vertically. Mason slammed massive amounts of clay directly onto the easels, imprinting the finished form with the gestural force of its making. The sections were then fired and fitted together on the wall, forming an undulating visual rhythm. Through these processes, Mason created an entirely new genre: ceramic walls.
Works of Art
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Vertical Sculpture, Spear Form, 1957, John Mason. Glazed stoneware. 67 5/16 x 28 x 12 in. Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum. © John Mason
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Orange Cross, 1963, John Mason. Ceramic with glaze. 64 x 49 x 16 in. Collection of Vernita Mason. © John Mason. Photo by Roxanne Hall Morganti
Explore the Archive
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Video: Irving Blum, John Mason, and Billy Al Bengston speak about the work of Peter Voulkos, 2010–11
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Video: John Mason speaks about his work, March 2010
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Andrew Perchuk, Getty Research Institute, with John Mason inspecting Mason’s sculpture Orange Cross, 2010. © J. Paul Getty Trust
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John Mason and Peter Voulkos photographing a sculpture outside their shared studio on Glendale Boulevard in Los Angeles, ca. 1959. Courtesy of the Voulkos & Co. Catalogue Project
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Peter Voulkos, John Mason, and Paul Soldner at Otis Art Institute (now called Otis College of Art and Design) in Los Angeles, 1956. Image courtesy of Soldner Enterprises and Stephanie Soldner Sullivan
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John Mason compacting clay onto his easel for a large ceramic relief in his Glendale Boulevard studio in Los Angeles, 1959–60. Image courtesy John Mason Studio. © Robert Bucknam
