This is a spectacular large ajr by Richard Zane Smith at the height of his “op-art” period in the 1990s.  The jar is coil-built with the coils left exposed on the exterior. The coils are then incised to create the designs and various colors of clay are added. The outside of the jar has horizontal coils and is etched with a ribbon design.  However, it is the interior that is amazing!  It has swirling, overlapping rows of corrugation. The coloration is striking both inside and outside. What makes this jar so special is that you look at it and wonder how he could have created a piece with two different directions and styles of coils!  It is visually and technically amazing!  The rim of the jar is stone-polished in contrast to the matte designs.  All the colors were applied before the piece was fired. It is signed, “Richard Zane Smith” and dated 1997.  It is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, restoration or repair.  

“The 1980s was a period of encouraged experimentation where an artist could work with one foot in traditional ways and traditional roots and the other out there probing into the future. A fascinating era of arts rooted in tradition but also expanding all over. When there seemed to be some interest I thought I’d start by keeping close to the old pueblo style of corrugated pottery. I started doing some imitation work but inevitably kept adding my own thing. In the beginning, they were just the clay color and I was doing design indention with my fingernail. Then I thought I would add another clay color, so I started adding slip and painting certain areas. Then, why not two clay colors? It wasn’t long and I started seeing that I could develop 3-D patterns. I could mix my slips in graduating shades. Once that happened it opened the door, and everything was 3-D. First, they were geometric, and then it was curvy geometric shapes which became a signature for years.”  Richard Zane Smith, Spoken Through Clay

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Zane Smith, Richard (b. 1955)

Richard Zane Smith

Richard Zane Smith was born in Georgia and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri; he has a degree from the Kansas City Art Institute, where he studied ceramics. As a young man, he taught at a Navajo mission school, where he was exposed to native clay and Ancient Pueblo pottery.  These remnants and their coiled construction, as well as his Wyandot heritage, are what continue to inspire his work to this day. Richard Zane Smith's works can be found in museums nationwide and featured in numerous exhibits, including the Heard Museum's exhibit, "Breaking the Surface," the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the San Diego Museum of Man, and the Denver Art Museum.   Richard's work has been featured in numerous books and magazine articles, including "The Art of Clay." His corrugated basket style designs are similar to pre-historic corrugated pottery, but using delicate lines, coils, and colors in each layer, makes his pottery resemble Wyandot basketry.  He continues to work on breathing life into recreating his interpretations and presents each work with a naturalistic style, shape, and design story.