Sandy Simon is truly one of the grand dames ofceramics her professional career now spanning more than 40 years. Simon, a studio potter (and owner ofthe Berkley-based TRAX Gallery focused on utilitarian ceramics) came of age inthe late 1960’s at a turbulent time in America as a student at the at theUniversity of Minnesota. Studyingwith Curtis Hoard and Warren McKenzie, Simon learned the tenets of what is nowknown as the Minge-sota school, anaesthetic and philosophy of making that grew out of the Japanese folk traditionMingei, one that embraced simplicity, utility and timeless beauty in everydaythings made for ordinary people. Simon has remained true to these ideals throughout her entire career.
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A maker of tableware, Simon’s pots have changed andevolved over the years while remaining constant in their intimacy of scale, meticulous craftsmanship, and thoughtful design. She is a rare maker, her ability to work tight asaccomplished as to work loose, her forms gestural and architectural, simplelined and definite. Nothing is everextraneous in her work, everything fully considered and purposeful. There is and always has been afearlessness in Simon’s work that has allowed her to experiment with and usewire in the creation of knobs or handles for lidded vessels, a palette spanningwhite to acid green, and surface qualities both pure and quietly riotous. Whether working in terra cotta orporcelain, her pots command and hold one’s attention, the user perhapsrecognizing Simon’s and the Mingei movements intent of instilling beauty inpeoples lives through the creation of art for the people, objects for their dailyuse serving one more than their intended function.
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