NEHMA | Collection

Mark Kuzio

American, b. 1954

Untitled
1985

Earthenware
10.125 x 10.25 x 10.25 in.
Museum Purchase with the Charter Member Endowment Fund
1985.251

Mark Kuzio’s artistic production has varied greatly throughout his career but has always remained firmly rooted in function. He spent his early years making production pottery, but his work has since evolved to encompass other purposeful objects, such as bird-baths and alcohol-fueled flame centerpieces. This untitled piece, however, represents another aspect of Kuzio’s practice, that of ikebana ware: vessels used in the centuries-old tradition of Japanese flower arranging. The earthenware pot has been painted in slips of various muted hues, which are then polished with a smooth object to produce a shiny, water-resistant surface without the use of glaze. By carving into the slips Kuzio reveals the clay body beneath, with delicate linear designs that complement the floral arrangement which would accompany the piece.

Kuzio has been a self-supporting potter for more than forty years, with additional experience working in sculpture, photography, and video. Like his father, Joseph, he studied engineering as an undergraduate, but when he took an elective pottery class, his life was forever changed. Three years later he graduated with a BA degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and went on to earn a master’s degree in sculpture from New York University. He moved to Belfast, Maine, where he built and maintains an active studio practice, while also producing community-based television content for the Belfast area.

Ayla Murray

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blue, green, red, white, yellow