• About us
  • Magazine
  • Submissions
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
Ceramics Now
Subscribe now
  • News
  • Artist profiles
  • Articles
  • Exhibitions
  • Ceramic art
  • Interviews
  • Resources
    • Ceramics Now Weekly
    • 2025 Ceramics Calendar
    • Ceramics job board
    • Pottery classes
Ceramics Now
  • News
  • Artist profiles
  • Articles
  • Exhibitions
  • Ceramic art
  • Interviews
  • Resources
    • Ceramics Now Weekly
    • 2025 Ceramics Calendar
    • Ceramics job board
    • Pottery classes
No Result
View All Result
Ceramics Now
Home Artists

Jim Melchert

January 20, 2023
in Artists
Jim Melchert Ceramics

Jim Melchert

Over his fifty-year career, Jim Melchert has cast a remarkably long shadow of grace and influence in the Ceramic arts community. Melchert’s work “can be described, at once accurately and poetically, as a transcendent exploration of mending. Using commercially-manufactured floor tile as his primary material, Melchert engages in deliberate breakage and consequent, system-based repair and elaboration.” Maria Porges

A powerful concept that has guided Melchert’s explorations over the past three decades is reminiscent of the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi, a process of mending something broken. The concept of mending can also be seen as a political action against the increasing pressure of our consumerist society. In his work, we see a Zen-like interaction, an acceptance of change as aspects of human life. “When clay is broken, the gift it gives you is discovering the interior structure. It’s like someone who has just made a first move in chess—it’s a challenge… you move, then the other person makes a move. Whatever I do, the tile comes back with a response.” Jim Melchert

Melchert was born in 1930 in Ohio, and he received degrees from Princeton and the University of California, Berkeley, studying ceramics under Peter Voulkos as his teaching assistant. He taught at SFAI and is a Professor Emeritus at U.C. Berkeley. In 1977, he was hired by the National Endowment for the Arts as Director of the Visual Arts Program. In 1984, Melchert became the Director of the American Academy in Rome.

Melchert’s work has been exhibited are the Whitney Museum and the Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museums of Contemporary Art in Houston and Los Angeles; at the Museums of Modern Art in San Francisco, Tokyo, and Kyoto; The Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Documenta 5 in Kassel, Germany.

Jim Melchert’s work is represented by Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA.

Visit Jim Melchert’s website.

Featured work

Selected works, 1993-2020

Jim Melchert Ceramics
Tags: Jim Melchert

Related Posts

Alice Shields ceramic artist
Artists

Alice Shields

April 28, 2025
Yuriy Musatov ceramics
Artists

Yuriy Musatov

April 23, 2025
Philsoo Heo ceramics
Artists

Philsoo Heo

April 15, 2025
Hanna Miadzvedzeva ceramic artist
Artists

Hanna Miadzvedzeva

April 11, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *





Latest Artist Profiles

Alice Shields ceramic artist
Artists

Alice Shields

April 28, 2025
Yuriy Musatov ceramics
Artists

Yuriy Musatov

April 23, 2025
Philsoo Heo ceramics
Artists

Philsoo Heo

April 15, 2025
Hanna Miadzvedzeva ceramic artist
Artists

Hanna Miadzvedzeva

April 11, 2025

Latest Articles

Anne Laure Cano and Jim Gladwin
Interviews

Translate: L’Ofici Ceramista – Two artists, a defunct factory, a museum and an archive

by Ceramics Now
May 8, 2025
The Whole World In Our Hands
Articles

The Whole World In Our Hands at The Stephen Lawrence Gallery

by Ceramics Now
May 6, 2025
Tontouristen Kollectiv
Articles

Tontouristen Kollektiv: What can be found in the gap between the different clay narratives?

by Ceramics Now
April 28, 2025
Sharif Farrag ceramics
Articles

Sharif Farrag: Hybrid Moments at Jeffrey Deitch

by Ceramics Now
April 16, 2025
Instagram Facebook LinkedIn
Ceramics Now

Ceramics Now is a leading independent art publication specialized in contemporary ceramics. Since 2010, we promote and document contemporary ceramic art and empower artists working with ceramics.

Pages

  • About us
  • Magazine
  • Submissions
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Subscribe to Ceramics Now Magazine

Join a vibrant community of over 21,000 readers and gain access to in-depth articles, essays, reviews, exclusive news, and critical reflections on contemporary ceramics.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

© 2010-2025 Ceramics Now - Inspiring the next generation of ceramic artists.

  • Subscribe to Ceramics Now
  • News
  • Artist profiles
  • Articles
  • Exhibitions
  • Ceramic art
  • Interviews
  • Resources
    • Ceramics Now Weekly
    • Ceramics Calendar 2025
    • Ceramics job board
    • Pottery classes
  • About us
    • Ceramics Now Magazine
    • Submissions
    • Advertise with Ceramics Now
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result

© 2010-2025 Ceramics Now - Inspiring the next generation of ceramic artists.