PRESENTATION: Ken Price-Drawings

Ken Price emerged in the 1960s as the brilliantly contrary student of Peter Voulkos*. They bridged the gap between “fine art” and “craft” through their unprecedented application of contemporary styles to the medium of ceramics. Price was influenced by the ocean and by the Mexican pottery he saw while on surfing trips in Southern California. Price’s works became larger, more sensual, and increasingly abstract as his career progressed. Price was also an extraordinary draftsman, making drawings throughout his career that are as inventive as his sculpture.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Matthew Marks Gallery Archive

The exhibition “Drawings” features sixteen drawings made between 1997 and 2007 from the estate of Ken Price. All are exhibited here for the first time. “Drawing is the primary thing,” Price said. “It’s where essential thinking goes on, and it’s the soul connection too. A good drawing can cut right to the essence of something.” Drawing was a central part of Ken Price’s practice throughout his career. He found a powerful source of inspiration in the landscapes that surrounded him, including the volcanoes and seascapes of Hawaii, which he visited regularly, and the high desert of Taos, New Mexico, where he lived for many years. Describing his home in Taos, Price said, “The sky here is connected to the land; it’s not like anything I’ve seen anywhere else. The sunsets aren’t pretty and sweet, they are spectacular and amazing”. Born in Los Angeles on February 16, 1935, Ken Price grew up near the beach and spent his adolescence surfing nearly every day. The son and grandson of inventors, he was raised in an environment that encouraged his creative interests, leading Price to identify as an artist from an early age. Price received a B.F.A. from the University of Southern California in 1956 and studied briefly with Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design) before receiving an M.F.A. from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred in 1959. Returning to Los Angeles, Price joined the stable of artists at the legendary Ferus Gallery, quickly establishing himself with several successful solo exhibitions. Price also steadfastly refused to illuminate the meaning of his work, preferring instead to allow the art to speak for itself. Price’s meticulous approach to object-making and his penchant for vibrant colors and unorthodox application methods marks him as a seminal Los Angeles artist, alongside Billy Al Bengston, Robert Irwin, Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell and Craig Kauffman. Although Price’s work may not adhere to the common stereotypes held about modern sculpture—that it should be large-scale, industrial and muted in color—his artwork nevertheless occupies an important place in art history. Ken Price died on February 24, 2012, at his home in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico, just outside of Taos.

*Peter Voulkos (Panagiotis Harry Voulkos) was a ceramist most known for his abstract expressionist sculptures. He received his BS from the Montana State College, Bozeman and received his MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the California College of the Arts). He taught at the Los Angeles County Art Institute (later renamed the Otis College of Art and Design) and the University of California, Berkeley. His students include Paul Soldner, Kenneth Price, Henry Takemoto, Michael Frimkess, John Mason, and others

Photo: Ken Price, Winter Swell, 1999, Acrylic and ink on paper, 5½ × 8½ inches; 14 × 22 cm, © Ken Price Estate, Courtesy Ken Price Estate and Matthew Marks Gallery

Info: Matthew Marks Gallery, 7818 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Duration: 18/11/2023-13/1/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, www.matthewmarks.com/