Larry Elsner

American
(1930–1990)

Untitled, "Onion Jar"
1982

Stoneware
34 x 18 x 16 in.
Gift of the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation
2001.10

The range of Larry Elsner’s work is illustrated here with pieces covering the length of his career. His early work displays his experiments with throwing, sculpting, and firing. The large handbuilt Onion Jar is part of his last group of vessels, which included vertical, horizontal, and round forms, and elegant, elongated, scraped designs.

Larry Elsner was born on a ranch in southern Idaho, which inspired his work, as seen in his many animal pieces, particularly horses and cats. He attended the University of Idaho for two years on an athletic scholarship, while taking art classes. After two years in the navy, he went on to graduate from Utah State University in 1957, and received an MFA from Columbia University in 1958. He traveled often to Japan, the first time in 1969 with his wife and daughter. Since then, a Japanese aesthetic permeated all of his work. In Japan he was inspired to stone-scrape his work after seeing this treatment used on wood-fired pots. He taught a variety of art classes at Utah State University over a thirty-year period.

Billie Sessions, PhD.

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This object has the following keywords:

• biomorphic
• texture
• vessels - Containers designed to serve as receptacles for a liquid or other substance, usually those of circular section and made of some durable material; especially containers of this nature in domestic use, employed in connection with the preparation or serving of food or drink, and usually of a size suitable for carrying by hand.

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Unearthed , 8/23/2022 - 5/14/2023

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