Richard DeVore – Vessel, 1981

Back to Collections
© the Artist. Photograph by R. H. Hensleigh and Tim Thayer.

Richard DeVore

Vessel, 1981

Born 1933, Toledo, Ohio; Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA), MFA, Department of Ceramics, 1957; CAA Artist-in-Residence and Head, Department of Ceramics, 1966–1978; died 2006, Fort Collins, Colorado
Ceramic
15 x 13 x 8 ⅝ inches
Gift of Kempf Hogan in honor of the Roger and Helen Kyes Family
CAM 1986.7

Richard DeVore graduated from Maija Grotell’s ceramics program at Cranbrook in 1957 only to return in 1966 as Artist-in-Residence. Trained in the vessel tradition as opposed to functional pottery making, DeVore creates objects of metamorphosis. Usually tall and enclosing, or shallow and opening, his containers have holes, crevices, swelling and shifting walls that recall aspects of both the human figure and geological formations smoothed together by hand. Vessel is a classic example. While this tall form appears to have regular sides, subtle indentations mark the human touch and carefully incised lines near the bottom provide sensual variety. The lip with its cut edge rises and dips, establishing front and back with the energy of a dancing line. Multiple firings make the layers of golden beige tones appear intrinsic, like those in rock or flesh, though drips on the interior make the liquid nature of the material visible too. Darker crackle glaze near the top of the inside draws the eye into the container’s depths. The work’s multiple natures embody a sense of transformation.

Marsha Miro
from Cranbrook Art Museum: 100 Treasures (Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Art Museum, 2004)
Category(s): Ceramics

Decade(s): 1980s

Browse Collections