The ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center is pleased to present Strange Brew: the Gerald and Daphna Cramer Teapot Collection. The collection is comprised of more than 50 teapots that range from the utilitarian to decorative and sculptural works of art. The collection is on loan but will be gifted to the museum in the near future.
The teapot form, used for centuries for brewing tea, is one of the most familiar household objects. Easily accessible, audiences will take delight in the myriad shapes and aesthetic approaches artists take for this exhibition. While rich in history and tradition, contemporary teapots have long held a fascination with ceramic artists in that they are challenging to construct: the spout, handle, body and lid must all be integrated into a unified whole. A variety of techniques have been incorporated in the Cramer Collection including hand-built, wheel-thrown or molded. Conceptually, the works on exhibition range from whimsy, humor or social satire. Artists Ted Saupe, Bob Rose, Noi Volkov and Chuck Aydlett use their teapots as a canvas to draw on, creating a narrative storyline while Wally Keeler, Ken Ferguson and James Lawton are still committed to working within the history of function.
Artists represented in the collection range from established and under-recognized American ceramists and those from abroad. Some of the artists represented in the Cramer Collection include Ralph Bacerra, Ken Ferguson, Wally Keeler (U.K.), Julia Galloway, Jeff Oestreich and George Walker (U.K.). Phoenix-area artists include Farraday Newsome, Jeffrey Reich, Sandra Luehrsen and Junya Shao.
The Cramer Collection was formerly owned by Santa Fe resident Sandy Besser, recognized as a pioneering art collector who amassed one of the finest ceramic teapot collections in the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s. According to Besser, “the collection has nothing to do with the function of the teapot or any fascination with the ritual of the tea ceremony. The concern is with the varied approaches to a single form within the same medium. Interpretation is unrestrained except for the constants of container, handle, lid and spout.”
Gerald Cramer, an internationally-recognized financier, has long ties to Arizona State University; he has been a frequent lecturer at the business school. In 1973 he founded and is currently Chairman Emeritus of Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, an investment management firm based in New York. He has been a winter resident of Phoenix for more than 25 years. His wife, Daphna, born in Israel, served in the Israeli Air Force and is a former Miss Israel.
On behalf of the ASU Art Museum and Ceramics Research Center, we extend our gratitude to the Cramers for their willingness to share the collection for future generations.
Past Exhibitions: Native Confluence: Sustaining Cultures
Image credit: