Art & Design hosts ceramic artist Jeff Oestreich

Document Type

News Article

Publication Date

9-2011

Campus Unit

University of North Dakota

Abstract

The University of North Dakota Department of Art & Design will host internationally recognized clay artist Jeff Oestreich at a workshop and presentation of his work October 13-15 in Room 149, the Hughes Fine Arts Center on the UND campus.

The workshop will be held 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, and Friday, Oct. 14 and 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15. The presentation includes a slide show at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the Barr Room of the Hughes Fine Art Center. The workshop, presentation, and slide show are free and open to the public.

About Jeff Oestreich Jeff Oestreich, born 1947, is an exceptional ceramic artist whose studio is in Taylors Falls, Minn. His work is exhibited internationally. His creations use minimal surface decoration and salt-fired glazes with minimal use of color. He displays strong visual ties to the Art Deco period. Salt glaze pottery is glossy, translucent and has a slightly orange-peel-like texture.

"My early pottery training at the Leach Pottery in England in the late 1960's was heavily influenced by Japanese pottery," said Oestreich in a short artist's statement for an exhibit at the MudFire Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Since that experience, my work has slowly moved away from this direct influence. Although there are still the underpinnings of the pottery of Japan, China and Korea in my work, that being simplicity, directness of approach, I am currently doing salt glazing, which has its origins in Germany," Oestreich said. "I have one foot in Japan, one in Germany, and an interest in Art Deco architecture. All things considered, my approach is American, borrowing from as many sources that speak to me."

"My current work is thrown and altered, either by faceting, stretching, or cutting and rejoining," Oestreich said. "Being fond of glaze and not willing to give up this surface altogether, I play with the ratio of glaze to clay surface. My consuming interest over the past dozen years has been the beaked pitcher. Each series provides an opportunity to refine older ideas as well as introduce new information."

Oestreich studied at Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota with Warren MacKenzie and apprenticed under Bernard Leach (who also mentored MacKenzie) for two years. His work appears in several notable collections, including the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, NY; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Kansas City Museum.

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