VICTOR SPINSKI & AVANT GARDE MOVEMENT

Victor Spinski, a leading figure in the avant-garde ceramics movement of the 1960s and 70s
died on Monday, January 21, 2013, at the age of 72.

Spinski was born on October 10, 1940. He attended the Kansas State Teachers College in
Emporia, Kansas, where he earned a B.S.E. in Art and Foreign Languages in 1963. He went
on to earn an MFA in Ceramics with minors in jewelry and photography from Indiana
University in Bloomington. Following graduation from his master's program in 1967, Spinski
became a full-time faculty member in the art department at the University of Delaware in
Newark, where he served as a professor until his retirement in 2006.

Throughout his career, Spinski experimented with many different materials, forms and
techniques, becoming most well-known for his tromp l'oeil clay sculptures, which often
incorporated humor and, occassionally, a jestering live performance. In a 1983 article in
the New York Times, art historian Helen A. Harrison describes Spinski's works as being
"technically sophisticated and fascinating in their imitation of nonceramic objects, such as
metal cans filled with garbage. His "fountains," including an overflowing sink full of dirty
dishes and a pile of beer cartons that have sprung a leak, are both cleverly conceived and
beautifully realized." Spinski participated in many historic solo and group exhibitions during
his lifetime, including "Clayworks: 20 Americans" and "Coffee, Tea and Other Cups" both
held in 1971 at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York City. Most recently, he
exhibited at the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida and the Fuller Craft Museum in
Brockton, Massachusetts.

Today, Spinski's works can be found in major museum collections across the United States,
including the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin, the Delaware Art Museum in
Wilmington and the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, among others.

According to ceramicist and scholar Garth Johnson, who interviewed the artist early last year,
"Spinski is a consummate craftsman. He knows his materials, knows his processes, knows his
decals and knows his china paint. He's not afraid to pour hundreds of hours into a piece,
because he knows his efforts will pay off."
For more information on the work of Spinski, please visit his website or check out Johnson's
own unique remembrance of the artist at Extremecraft.com.

Victor Spinski was influenced by the Yixing artists of eastern China. He was a leading figure
in the avant-garde ceramics movement of the 1960s and 1970s and held a patent on the
Ceramic Photo Emulsion process that produced the ceramic decals he used in his trompe
l'oeil ceramic assemblages.
Known for these sculptural still life compositions of common everyday objects, for example,
paper cups in a cardboard box, tools, paint cans or dishes in the sink. Many of the
assemblages contain objects that are convincing of material other than ceramic. Spinski
created the cast and constructed ceramic objects then spent hours perfecting the surface with
decals and china paint.

The Clay Studio is pleased to salute the life and legacy of ceramic sculptor Victor Spinski,
who passed away on January 21, 2013 at the age of 72. Throughout his life, Spinski always
balanced virtuosic craftsmanship with his sharp wit and conceptual rigor. His trompe l’oeil
works required viewers to question their assumptions about clay… and quite possibly, reality
itself. Spinski was a legendary raconteur, and his sculptures are infused with his stories,
pranks and wordplay.

Victor Spinski’s life was as idiosyncratic and unusual as his art. He escaped the Nazi
occupation of Poland with his parents and spent much of his childhood in refugee camps and
military bases as his father worked for the Allies and underground resistance. After moving
to the United States, he received a bachelor’s degree in Russian literature, then served in
Vietnam, where he was severely injured. After receiving extensive rehabilitation, Spinski
received an MFA in Ceramics from Indiana University and moved to Delaware, where he
taught for 38 years before his retirement in 2006.

This exhibition originated at at West Chester University’s Knauer Gallery. The Clay Studio
would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of John Baker and Sally Van Orden, who
made this exhibition possible.

Most of the works pictured here are available for sale. Please contact Jennifer Zwilling,
Curator of Artistic Programs with any purchase inquiries, 215-925-3453, ext. 18.

Acknowledgement:
https://www.theclaystudio.org/exhibitions/victor-spinski-retrospective
https://en.sandsresortsmacao.com/artmacao/victor-spinski.html
https://www.craftcouncil.org/post/remembering-victor-spinski