Ron Nagle. Nocturn Around

For the past six decades or so, Ron Nagle has been pursuing parallel careers as a musician and sculptor.His small-format ceramic sculptures are simultaneously miniature landscapes, abstract compositions,thoughts turned into form, and visual jokes – Nagle’s humor and his penchant for puns and wordplay arewell known and find expression not only in his song texts, but also in the titles of his sculptures. Hisworks display many influences from European and American painting, the hot rod phenomenon, andeven Japanese ceramics and Zen Buddhism.

In addition to their miniature format, the artist’s works are characterized by structure, form, color and theequally significant and recurring aspect of surface modelling.

Since the 1950s Nagle has been consistently working to redefine clay as an artistic material. His owndevelopment is closely interrelated with a movement dating from this period, now known as the CaliforniaClay Movement, which has a particular focus on the revaluation and establishment of ceramic materialsas fully valid artistic media.

In the Secession, the San Francisco-based artist presents a selection of 25 sculptures and drawings fromrecent years.

Ron Nagle, born 1939 in San Francisco, lives and works in San Francisco.