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The History of Ceramics
Picasso The Potter
How did Picasso discover pottery? And how did he transform the fortunes of an ancient town in the process? Join Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene to discuss Picasso’s life in the South of France just after the Second World where he found an exciting creative outlet bringing together painting and sculpture and in doing so transformed the history of art.
Ceramics and artwork in this week’s episode include:
Guernica, 1937 by Pablo Picasso
Head Plate, 1957 by Pablo Picasso
"Tete au Masque" Plate, 1956
Owl Pitcher, 1957 by Pablo Picasso
Three Sardines, 1947 by Pablo Picasso
Bull In The Arena, 1948 by Pablo Picasso
Vase with Two High Handles, The Queen, 1953 by Pablo Picasso
Professor Paul Greenhalgh is a specialist on the art and design of the Modern period. He has written widely on Art Nouveau and curated several exhibitions including the major survey Art Nouveau 1890-1914, which toured internationally (2000-01). His books include Ephemeral Vistas (1988), Modernism in Design (1990), Art Nouveau 1890–1914 (2000), The Modern Ideal (2005), Fair World (2011), L’Art Nouveau: La Revolution Decorative (2013), Ceramic Art and Civilisation (2021) and Pablo Picasso: The Legacy of Youth (2022). He has held positions as Head of Research at the V&A Museum, London; President and Director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Director of the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich; and Inaugural Director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, London. He was born and raised in Bolton, and is a proud Lancastrian.
Stephanie Rozene is a ceramic artist, Professor of Art, and the Ceramics Program Coordinator at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York she has been teaching, writing and making art since 2004. At Hartwick she's been honored with the Wandersee Scholar in Residence award twice, along with the Teacher Scholar Award. Stephanie's research uses historical ornament and porcelain as a visual language to critique contemporary political rhetoric, and she also explores the history of clay as a cooking tool. Her work has been shown extensively both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and is the Vice President of the board of trustees for the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine, and was educated at NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Canada and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
02:11
Introducing The History of Ceramics
The History of Ceramics brings together British art historian & curator Paul Greenhalgh and U.S. maker and academic Stephanie Rozene as they reveal the most surprising stories from this often-overlooked corner of art history.
39:31
The First Pot
In this episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene travel back to the earliest civilisations to find out how they created the very first ceramic objects and what that meant to the story of mankind.
57.36
Adelaide Alsop Robineau - The Pioneering Potter
In this episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene discuss the life and work of Adelaide Alsop Robineau who made the Mona Lisa of American ceramics – the Scarab Vase – that was later stolen in an audacious art heist.