Among the highlights of the 2013 Venice Biennale was a selection of recent works by Ron Nagle, whose small-scale ceramic sculptures are featured in this exhibition organized by The San Diego Museum of Art. Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, the artist’s first major solo museum exhibition, spans a period of more than 30 years, and includes never-before-seen work and preparatory drawings from the artist’s studio.
Inspired by fearless pioneers such as Peter Voulkos at Berkeley, Nagle has honed his approach to color and form. With an architect’s attention to detail and a graffiti writer’s irreverence, he has crafted his quintessentially Californian aesthetic. Sunset chromatic contrasts and linoleum-like splatters envelope vaguely Deco vessels, while everyday forms acquire multiple meanings, wrapped in riddles and puns.
