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Richard W. James, Richard James

Biography to Display: 

Born, Tennessee

EDUCATION

2001BFA The University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee

2012Post Baccalaureate, Ceramics, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana

2016MFA Ceramics, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

APPRENTICESHIPS & RESIDENCIES

2015Summer Artist in Residence, Zhenrutang, Jingdezhen, China

2016Artist in Residence, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

2017-2019Long-Term Resident, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

2012—Studio Artist

 

BIOGRAPHY

 

Richard W. James in known for figurative mixed media sculpture. Works revolve around the bust or the full figure in various scales. Sculptures are most often developed using earthenware in combination with textile, metal or wood and frequently found elements. Ceramic surface treatment features underglaze application. After firing, various cold working surface techniques are used. The majority of James' figures are completed with carefully positioned found and modified objects.

The artist often uses himself as subject matter. The content for most works is a nuanced self-examination. James is ultimately interested in the factors that helped shape him including rural upbringing and culture, self-sufficiency, and the craftsman. His work is narrative and focuses on the portrait bust, the individual figure and the tableau.

James has this to say about his work, “I have always struggled to navigate between pride in my rural heritage and the need to distance myself from it. To better understand the "soup" in which I was stewed, I incorporate materials and processes associated with rural poverty. Mending clothes and constructing dwellings represent the feminine and masculine aspects of my upbringing, while clay stands for me. Inconsistencies between how we see ourselves and how we would like others to see us can lead to different versions of truth and history.”[1]

[1] https://www.sculpture.org/studentawards/2016/recipients/james.shtml (10/30/2018)

Bibliography

Bibliography to Display: 

Publications, Authored

(upcoming) James, R.W. (2019) Crating Large Sculptures, Ceramics Monthly, January

James, R.W. (2017) The Work of Russell Wrankle, Ceramics: Art and Perception. #105, pp. 4-9.

James, R.W. (2017).  The Unifying Language of Clay in a Complicated World, Ceramics:

Technical, #105, pp. 58-61

James, R.W. (2015).  He Said, She Said. Ceramics: Art and Perception, June.  

James, R.W. (2013).  Low firing with wood. Ceramics Monthly. June/July/August, pp. 58–62.

 

Publications, Featured

Arbogast, E. (2018). Emerging Artist, Ceramics Monthly. May, p. 39

Arbogast, E. (2018). Exposure, Ceramics Monthly. January, p. 18.

 

 

 

Hutchison, J. (2016). The International Sculpture Center 2016 Outstanding Student Achievement

in Contemporary Sculpture Awards, Sculpture. October, p. 52.

Knapp, J. (2017). Exposure, Ceramics Monthly. March, p. 20.

Melnick, D. “Pots and Protons, Richard James Ceramics.” The Ryder Arts Magazine, (May 2014).

Ramos, O. (2017). Conversation with Richard W. James, Work Untitled. 2017 Q3.

Salamoni, A. (2014).  Wood-fired Ceramics: 100 Contemporary Artists, Schiffer Publishing:  

Atglen, Pennsylvania.

Smith, A. (2017) The Unsettling Ceramic Sculptures of Richard W. James. Hi-Fructose Art          

Magazine, (http://hifructose.com/2017/06/20/the-unsettling-ceramic-sculptures-of-richard-w-james/)

 

 

Website(s):

http://richardwjames.com/

 

The Horn Blower
Date: 2016
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware, Mixed Media, Wood
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 79 x 12 x 12"
Photo: Aaron Paden
Photo: Aaron Paden
Photo: Aaron Paden
Punch and Judy
Date: 2016
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware, Found Object, Wood
Dimensions: 47 x 34 x 10"
Surface Technique: Underglaze
Photo: Robert Batey
Albert VI
Date: 2017
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Concrete, Earthenware, Mixed Media, Textile
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 54 x 25 x 17
Surface Technique: Glaze
Photo: Robert Batey
Photo: Robert Batey
Folleree and Folleroo
Date: 2017
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware, Mixed Media, Textile, Wood
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 70 x 38 x 10
Photo: Robert Batey
Lineage of a Pig Farmer
Date: 2017
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Concrete, Earthenware, Mixed Media, Textile, Wood
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 52 x 21 x 16"
Photo: Robert Batey
The House That Bill Built
Date: 2017
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware, Textile, Wood
Method: Hand-Built
Dimensions: 30 x 20 x 10.5"
Surface Technique: Underglaze
Photo: Robert Batey
On the Bench
Date: 2018
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Ceramic, Mixed Media
Method: Mixed Methods
The Matador 'Little City - Coat of Lights'
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Mixed Media
Method: Hand-Built
Courtesy Ceramic Sculpture Culture, Unifying the Narrative Figure, NCECA 2018
Photo: TMP
Courtesy Ceramic Sculpture Culture, Unifying the Narrative Figure, NCECA 2018
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP

Citation: Kuratnick, Jeffrey. "The Marks Project." Last modified May 20, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/james