the ever entertaining Jack Earl

I first came across the work of Jack Earl when I was a not so young man at art school scraping my way through the ceramics course.His straightforward approach was refreshing in a world of arcane glaze technology,quasi Japanese aesthetics and big ego's.The works are a strange blend of down-home philosophy and story telling highlighted by an extaodinary figurative facility.Kind of Meissen meets murder ballad. The works are often very touching or very funny.

"Ceramist Jack Earl immortalized moments of Middle America in sculptural tableaux drawn straight from his life in rural Ohio. Earl became a seminal figure in American ceramics by elevating the importance of family life and humor into the realm of fine art. A natural-born storyteller, Earl never let art-world fashions deter him from celebrating the quotidian narrative in his sculptures. His scenes range from deadpan portraits to quirky tall tales wherein a dog might walk on two feet or a person might find some of their body parts replaced with vegetables. Frequently intermingling fantasy and daily life, Earl is a master at reminding us that within the things we take for granted, there are moments of never-ending mystery and wonder."

thanks https://www.jmkac.org/JackEarl