Mel Fowler

American
(1921–1987)

Deep Platter
circa 1964

Stoneware
4.5 x 19.5 x 19.5 in.
Gift of The Phillips Collection
1999.78

Mel Fowler, known as a sculptor and painter, created the wall-mounted Deep Platter as a juxtaposition of the functional surface of a traditional pottery form and the two-dimensional surface of a canvas. The expressionist layers of cream and blue-green glaze create a field of moody hues upon which the raised surface decoration stands perpendicular, creating an illusion of positive and negative space. Deep Platter presages the carved stone sculptures Fowler began producing after this piece was made.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1921, Mel Fowler had an early fascination with drawing and flying. By the age of eleven, he was building model World War One airplanes from balsa wood and successfully selling them at the local department store. From 1941 to 1942, he participated in the ROTC program at the University of Texas in Austin, after which he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force for pilot training. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he quickly transferred to the US Army Air Corps, flying 144 combat missions in China over the course of a year. When World War Two ended, Fowler remained in the air force, flying missions while studying art in the evenings, and drawing, painting, and sculpting whenever possible. Prolific in a wide variety of mediums, he gained notice for his work both in the US and abroad. He retired from the air force as a lieutenant colonel and purchased a studio in Liberty Hill, Texas, where he began sculpting full time. He was killed in Italy on September 25, 1987, while working as an asset for the CIA, continuing to serve his country until the very end.

Ayla Murray

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This object has the following keywords:

• brown
• green

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Unearthed , 8/23/2022 - 5/14/2023

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