Sándor Horváth
(n.d.) lives and works in Romhány, Hungary
Hand Sculpture II, 1975
salt glazed stoneware, 15.25 x 4 inches, 93.39.176
In the spring of 1971, under the auspices of the International Academy of Ceramics, the Tennessee Arts Commission pledged its support for the promotion and establishment of the U.S. International Ceramic Symposiums. The Symposium’s mission to help develop a worldwide network of support for ceramic art was achieved by bringing together top ceramic artists from around the world for a month-long sharing of ideas and creation of innovative ceramics.
Left: Photo of Horváth from the ICS catalogue Center: Hand Sculpture III, 1975, salt glazed stoneware, 12 x 3 inches, 93.39.177 Right: Hand Sculpture I, 1975, salt glazed stoneware, 10.25 x 3.5 inches, 93.39.178. More images below
Horváth represented Hungary at the Second U.S. International Ceramic Symposium, which consisted of twelve artists from seven different countries, and was hosted in the summer of 1975 at the Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. As a factory designer for a ceramic tile factory in Hungary, Horváth employed his technical production knowledge to create dimensional low-relief sculptures as well as highly textured free standing forms. His texturing contrasts highly detailed areas with plain areas, and uses metallic oxides to achieve tonal variations. Fired with little to no glaze, the works Horváth made during the symposium are much smaller than the over three meter large reliefs he has experience making in his studio in Hungary. Interestingly, the 1975 Symposium was the first time Horváth tried raku firing, a popular activity amongst the participants of the Symposium. Despite having just learned this technique he performed it well, creating fascinating work such as Raku Egg Carton Slabs on a Coiled Base and his series of expressive “hand sculptures,” made through directly squeezing clay.
Horváth has participated in various ceramic symposiums and has work in the collection of the International Ceramics Studio in Hungary.
Written by Aiden Layer, TN Arts Intern
Left: Raku Egg Carton Slabs on a Coiled Base, 1975, clay, 11.5 x 10 x 5.25 inches, 93.39.117 Right: Hand Sculpture IV, 1975, stoneware, 10 x 3.5 inches, 93.39.179
