Project Type: ARTWORKS

Oct

2019

THE CONTINUUM

Highlighting Mara Superior’s formative years, the Artist Archives consists of the artist’s earliest pieces, spanning the late 1970s to the 1990s. The enthusiasm and excitement that Superior had in the beginning of her career is reflected in these pieces, which embody her process of falling in love with reduced porcelain and the history of ceramics.

The Continuum represents Superior’s commemoration of her excitement for ceramic history: “I was so excited to be on this path; I used the word ‘continuum’, as I felt that I was part of this long history from 480 AD in China, to Meissen, to Me.” Superior’s first series is self-referential – Ceramics about Ceramics – and the artist’s self-described “off-the-charts enthusiasm” for the material.

In “Keramos”, one of the artist’s earliest, serious artworks; Superior connects her work to the Grecian urn and the Greek name for ceramics. On the piece are little samples of the various Greek forms: the amphora, the Krater, and various other vessel forms. “Meissen and Me” is another piece which ties Superior’s work to art historical precedents and displays the artist’s technical evolution as she addressed shapes and construction along with conceptual considerations. At first, Superior started with two-sided pieces, then came up with boxy shapes so she could control the curve and form of the piece with exactness. Moving in tandem with her ideas, the artist’s slab forms provided the canvas upon which Superior’s artistic visions could merge ceramics with the artist’s painting background.

Mara Superior, “The Studio”, 1984, 12 x 15.5 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Tea Party Platter”, 1987, 12.5 x 15.75 x .75″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Amphora”, 1990, 12.5 x 22 x 4″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “One Life Story”, 1991, 12.5 x 22 x 6″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Tea Totem”, 1991, 24.25 x 21.5 x 4.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood base.

Mara Superior, “Tea Temple Teapot”, 1998, 18 x 23.5 x 7.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, faux marble paint, brass pins. Everson Museum of Art.

Oct

2019

ART HISTORY

Mara Superior’s passion for Art History and the History of the Decorative Arts has informed her work throughout her career. She seeks to create beauty through the reinterpretation of historical inspirations synthesized with her own visual vocabulary and contemporary views. The idiosyncratic visual language that Superior has been cultivating over decades is largely rooted in porcelain but encompasses painting, art history, ceramic history, and contemporary art. Works in this series juxtapose art historical references beginning with the Egyptians through 17th-century European ceramics from a contemporary viewpoint. The resulting objects are rooted in the historical continuum.

Mara Superior, “Rubens Relief”, 2018, 8 x 10 x 2.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “Venus of Urbino Revived”, 2018, 13 x 19 x 1.75″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf, decal. Chazen Museum of Art (2019.1).

Mara Superior, “Venus of Urbino Revived”, 2018, 13 x 19 x 1.75″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf, decal, detail. Chazen Museum of Art (2019.1).

Mara Superior, “Belle France”, 2005, 22 x 19 x 8.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood base, gold leaf, bone label, brass pins.

Mara Superior, “Madama Butterfly”, 2005, 22 x 18 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, brass pins.

“Mara Superior, “Madama Butterfly”, 2005, 22 x 18 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, brass pins.

Mara Superior, “Madama Butterfly”, 2005, 22 x 18 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, brass pins.

Oct

2019

COLLECTIONS

When Mara Superior first discovered ceramics, she wanted to make an artistic, non-functional object that came out of her training in conceptual art during her BFA in painting. Her first collection platter included miniaturized versions of actual ceramic objects made by students and colleagues in her graduate ceramics program.

Ever since, Superior has been making collection platters commemorating a particular period or form in ceramic history. Each platter includes miniaturized replicas of real objects from that period, such as a famous punchbowl made by John Cornelius. The background platters are made of Superior’s typical English porcelain with Cornwall stone glaze, which she considers to be her material language. However, the miniaturized objects are always made with the same authentic materials and techniques as the original objects, leading her to use stoneware and earthenware techniques that she seldom uses in her other work.

Mara Superior, “Americana: A Collection of Blue Salt-glazed Stoneware”, 2016, 14.5 x 17.5 x 1.5″, platter: high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf; miniature delft chargers: salt-glaze, stoneware.

Mara Superior, “A Collection: The Celadons”, 2016, 14 x 17.5 x 1.5″ (platter); 10.5 x 4 x .5″ (key), high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, celadon glazes, gold leaf. Peabody Essex Museum of Art.

Mara Superior, “A Collection of Canton China”, 2015, 13 x 16 x 2.5”, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “English Delftware: A Collection of Blue Dash Chargers”, 2016, 12.5 x 16 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf. Everson Museum of Art.

Oct

2019

POLITICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL

Artists can actualize tangible objects which address the frustrations that we commonly feel. In ceramics, there is a long, historic tradition of political commentary. Themes that pique our visual outcries range from canaries in the coal mine to thinking about citizenship, American and world history, power, democracy and the value and vulnerability of freedom. Since the invention of the printing press, drawings of political satire and humor have been used to inform and get a message out to the population. 17th and 18th century British and French political satire, as well as comic art and prints by James Gilroy and William Hogarth changed thinking with brilliant wit equaling high art. Goya, Daumier, Picasso, the Gorilla Girls, and today’s New Yorker Magazine covers by Barry Blit come to mind as artists make political-commentary in reaction to their times.

BUSHWACKED

PIGGY BANKERS

TULIPOMANIA

SMART PLANET

OBAMA WHITE HOUSE

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Black Swan Platter, A Rarity

Mara Superior, “Black Swan Platter, A Rarity”, 2010, 16 x 16 x 2″, high-fired porcelain,
ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

While listening to NPR, Superior heard the Great Recession of 2008 characterized as a “black swan occurrence”, which is an impactful historical event that is surprising when it happens but seems obvious and predictable after the fact. White swans are prominent in Superior’s work and throughout the history of porcelain, so she was intrigued by the idea of this rare bird as a symbol of the financial crisis.

Mother Nature

Mara Superior, “Mother Nature Says, Wake Up!”, 2010, 17.5 x 22.25 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain,
ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, pearl luster, gold leaf, paint.

Mother Nature is a pro-science admonition to those who would choose to ignore logic. A reminder of the delicate beauty and bounty at risk — for short term financial gain.

Please Advise

Mara Superior, “Please Advise”, 2012, 8.5 x 11.5 x 1″, high-fired porcelain,
ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

July 4th

Mara Superior, “July 4th”, 2016, 12.5 x 12.5 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain,
ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Oct

2019

FLORA & FAUNA

Mara Superior’s Flora & Fauna Series is inspired by the beauty of the natural and the animal world. She depicts realistic wildlife, enchanted woods, and fantastical fairy tale creatures, and she plays with whimsical shapes and unusual scale relationships between plants and animals.

Her series of platters depicting individual animals were inspired by 18th and 19th century engravings in French natural history reference books. These prints typically showed only one animal or plant at a time, inspiring Superior to harness the power of focusing on each animal individually. Some of the works in this series also refer back to animal depictions throughout art history, such as the famous 18th century zebra painting by the English painter George Stubbs.

Superior often incorporates evergreen trees into her work. To Superior, evergreens symbolize immortality. They are always there—they don’t lose their leaves, and they change color in the winter and then brighten up again in spring and summer. Evergreens are also the arbor vitae, or tree of life, in that they support and nourish so many creatures in the forest. The evergreen images are sometimes accompanied by written words such as “evergreen”, “arbor vitae” or “forever”.

Mara Superior, “Ornithology”, 2011, 16 x 16 x 2.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Enchanted Wood/The Wild Side”, 1997. 10 x 22 x 4.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “The Voyeur: Une Fleur Amoureaux, A Flower In Love”, 2010, 16 x 20 x 1.5”, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze. Peabody Essex Museum of Art.

Mara Superior, “Peace on Earth”, 2003, 13 x 19 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Le Beau Bete”, 2002, 16 x 16 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “My Forest”, 1993, 15.5 x 12 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Landscape/A Cow”, 1985, 12 x 8 x 3″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze. Bennington Museum of Art (2019.1.2).

Mara Superior, “A Spring Dream (Rabbit Teapot)”, 2008, 16 x 17 x 6″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf. Fuller Craft Museum (2018.25).

Mara Superior, “Mates for Life (A Swan’s Wedding Day)”, 2008, 23 x 16 x 10″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, ink.

Mara Superior, “Jumbo II”, 2002, 16 x 16 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Hare”, 1990, 18 x 12 x 1″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Vermont View”, 2005, 14.5 x 19.5 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood frame, paint, gold leaf. Bennington Museum of Art (2019. 1.1).

Mara Superior, “Linnaeus Father of Taxonomy”, 2010, 16 x 6 x 6″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Oct

2019

HOUSE & GARDEN

Mara Superior’s House & Garden Series highlights the landscape, architecture, and lifestyle of New England. The artworks display the depth of influence that living in the area has had on the artist’s aesthetic, and range from teapots, to relief tiles and platters.

TEAPOTS

Mara Superior, “A Tea Party”, 1985, 17 x 22.5 x 4″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Trees/ Forrest/ Tea Tea Time”, 1985, 19.75 x 16 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Pennsylvania Teapot”, 1987, 21 x 20 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Tea House”, 1988, 23 x 21 x 8.5″, porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “The Homestead: A Pastoral”, 1989, 19 x 15 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Dream House Teapot”, 1992, 6 x 13 x 7.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Arbor Vitae/Enchanted Wood”, 1993, 11 x 20 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “La Femme”, 1998, 17.5 x 19 x 7″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “La Femme”, 1995, detail, 17.5 x 19 x 7″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Afternoon Tea”, 1996, 14 x 19 x 6.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “No Place Like Home”, 2005, 13 x 19 x 10″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf, bone, ink, brass pins.

Mara Superior, “Mates for Life (A Swan’s Wedding Day)”, 2008, 23 x 16 x 10″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, ink.

Mara Superior, “A Swan’s Wedding Day”, 2008, 21 x 16 x 10″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, ink, brass pins. Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Museum of Art (2019.7.1).

Mara Superior, “Harmony Two Chimney House Teapot”, 2010, 11 x 16 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, bone, ink, brass pins, milk paint base.

Mara Superior, “Spring/Tree of Life”, 2015, 11 x 14 x 4″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “A Spring Dream (Rabbit Teapot)”, 2008, 16 x 17 x 6″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf. Fuller Craft Museum (2018.25).

VESSELS

Mara Superior, “A Dream Housing Dreaming”, 1984, 15.25 x 13.25 x 5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Landscape/A Cow”, 1985, 12 x 8 x 3″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze. Bennington Museum of Art (2019.1.2).

Mara Superior, “Pair of Love Birds Vases”, 1990, 11.25 x 13.5 x 5″ (each), high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “My Pet”, 1990, 16 x 21 x 7″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Amour/Harmony”, 1991, 10.5 x 22 7″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Pair of Talking Bird Vases”, 1991, 11 x 13 x 4″ (each), high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Vermont Views/ Emerald Homestead”, 1993, 7.25 x 11.75 x 4″ (each), high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

PLATTERS, RELIEFS & TILE PICTURES

Mara Superior, “A Home Comfort”, 1982, 12 x 12 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “A Tea Party Platter”, 1987, 12.5 x 15.75 x .75″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Largest Heart Platter”, 1989, 20 x 19.5 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Rose Arbor”, 1998, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “House & Garden”, 1998, 15 x 18 x 3″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Spring Two Rabbits Relief”, 2002, 19.5 x 6.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Peace on Earth”, 2003, 13 x 19 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “Vermont View”, 2005, 14.5 x 19.5 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood frame, paint, gold leaf. Bennington Museum of Art (2019. 1.1).

Mara Superior, “Amour”, 2008, 12.5 x 19.5 x 3″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood.

Mara Superior, “Alfresco”, 2011, 16 x 20 x 2.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “La Vache Pot de Creme”, 2016, 16.5 x 16.5 x 3″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “June Platter” 2016, 12.5 x 16.5 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “My June Garden”, 2018, 16 x 16 x 2.25″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior “Winter House Platter”, 2004, 14 x 18 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Oct

2019

COLLABORATIVE

Mara and Roy Superior exemplified the ideal of a life shared between art lovers. When asked about the collaborations between husband and wife, Mara reflected that it is an exciting thing for a few artists to expand their repertoire by having a partner, friend, or relative who is an expert in another material. As artists consider their material’s limitations, the possibilities immediately start to expand when incorporating another artist’s materials and mastery, and the marrying of two minds enhances the whole creative process.

“I was very, very blessed and fortunate, and I would grab him whenever I could—though he was pretty slippery—I’d catch him once in a while. I was usually corralling him into these ideas.” Their ideas culminated in “Aqua Vitae,” “Sea of Plenty,” “Aqua Marina,” “Pearls Collaborative Cabinet”, and other works, each of which consist of a custom cabinet, decorative elements, and egg tempera painting made by Roy and a porcelain centerpiece made by Mara. The cabinets are now in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Peabody Essex Museum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Racine Art Museum, respectively.

In addition to these showcases of Roy’s mastery over wood and painting and Mara’s mastery over porcelain and design, Roy made all kinds of tools for Mara. “I was so blessed and spoiled…he would surprise me, or I’d ask him for a specific tool. I would bring home a little drawing of something that I needed, like a stamp that I wanted to press into clay for a window, and he would make it. He helped me with all kinds of templates, and drape molds, and so many special, wooden tools in so many categories, all customized.”

– Mara Superior, 2019

GRAND TOUR

Mara Superior’s Souvenir Series highlights the artist’s love of travel and culture, from her native New York City to her beloved Italy.

Mara Superior, “Oh Britania Teapot”, 2006, 24 x 28.5 x 13″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “My New York”, 2004, 18 x 15 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, white gold leaf, bone, ink, brass pins. Currier Museum of Art (2019.9a-c).

Mara Superior, “My New York”, 2004, 18 x 15 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, white gold leaf, bone, ink, brass pins.Currier Museum of Art (2019.9a-c).

Mara Superior, “My New York”, 2004, 18 x 15 x 9″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, white gold leaf, bone, ink, brass pins. Currier Museum of Art (2019.9a-c).

Mara Superior, “Italia Ti Amo Teapot”, 2006, 19 x 8 x 12″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, brass pins.

Mara Superior, “Beau Monde, Where Shall I Wander”, 2005, 14 x 16 x 16″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze. Kamm Teapot Foundation (2005.60.6).

Mara Superior, “Belle France”, 2005, 22 x 19 x 8.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood base, gold leaf, bone label, brass pins.

Oct

2019

BLUE SERIES

In Superior’s Blue Series, she highlights the cobalt blue and white ceramic tradition that began in China and was the inspiration and foundation of porcelain work in Europe and across the globe. Some of her Blue Series pieces use the classic visual themes and icons of early Chinese blue and white export porcelain, such as waterscapes, pagodas, mountains, and bridges. In other pieces, she uses the cobalt blue and white palette to paint western scenes similar to those found in her multicolored work. Every time she uses cobalt blue, she connects a dot back to the Chinese blue and white tradition and positions herself as a continuation of that tradition in the history of porcelain.

Mara Superior, “The West Playhouse”, 2017, 11.5 x 16.5 x 1″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze.

Mara Superior, “The West Playhouse”, 2017, 11.5 x 16.5 x 1″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze. Racine Art Museum.

Mara Superior, “East Platter”, 2018, 12.25 x 15.75 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold luster.

Mara Superior, “East Platter”, 2018, 12.25 x 15.75 x 1.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold luster. Racine Art Museum.

Mara Superior, “Western Lady Dream Platter”, 2018, 12.25 x 15.5 x 1″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold luster.

Mara Superior, “In the Garden: The West”, 2015, 7 x 9 x 2″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “A Collection of Canton China”, 2015, 13 x 16 x 2.5”, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “Kangxi Period, Qing Dynasty/A Collection”, 2018, 12.5 x 15.5 x .5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf. The Frick Pittsburgh.