Muskegon, Museum of Art

Color It Bizarre: Clarice Cliff Pottery from a Michigan Collection

April 29 through August 1, 2010

Color It Bizarre: Clarice Cliff Pottery from a Michigan Collection brings together 175 exceptional examples of Cliff’s colorful wares designed at the Wilkinson and Newport pottery companies under her direction in the 1920s and 1930s. Cliff’s distinctive wares are highly collectible and sought by an enthusiastic international audience. Color It Bizarre presents a broad selection of her hallmark works and is drawn from a private collection that may be the largest private Clarice Cliff collection in North America. The exhibition will be on display at the Muskegon Museum of Art April 29 through August 1, 2010.

When Clarice Cliff, a young, independently minded decorator at A. J. Wilkinson’s Royal Staffordshire pottery company, first experimented with geometric patterns hand painted on traditionally shaped wares in 1927, the delightful mismatch earned the name “Bizarre,” and the public was smitten. Thus began the exceptional career of one of the most prolific and important Art Deco ceramics designers of the 20th century.

Clarice Cliff (1899-1972) was of humble Staffordshire origins at the heart of the British pottery industry. She entered the industry at 13, and by the age of 28, her extraordinary talent, determination, and vision moved her to the forefront of British pottery design.

Clarice experimented with glazes and pottery body colors, as well as modern shapes that suited the Jazz Age. Her boldly colored, complex abstract designs vied for attention with whimsical landscape and floral patterns. An astute business woman, her innovative approach to color, design, and shape appealed to a youthful market and she was instrumental in making stylish, hand-painted wares available to the masses. As early as 1928, her name appeared on the backstamp (maker’s mark) of Bizarre wares—one of the few women in British potteries allowed the honor—and by 1936, wares were simply marked “Clarice Cliff,” her popularity was so well established.

Opening Reception & May Tours
The Muskegon Museum of Art will hold an opening reception on Thursday, April 29, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. At 7:00 pm, renowned Clarice Cliff experts and collectors Peter and Catherine Wentworth-Sheilds will present a lecture about their collecting experiences and Art Deco collecting perspectives. MMA docents will lead free, guided public tours of the exhibition from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. every Thursday throughout May. Call 231.720.2570 or e-mail visit www.muskegonartmuseum.org for visitor information.

OPENING RECEPTION INVITATION

Color it Bizarre was organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and is underwritten by the Hines Corporation.