Matt Nolen
Tony Marsh is best known for iconic pieces which begin as functional ceramic vessels. He then sets about perforating the form resulting in non-functional, functional vessel forms. Regardless of their uselessness the ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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Tony Marsh is best known for iconic pieces which begin as functional ceramic vessels. He then sets about perforating the form resulting in non-functional, functional vessel forms. Regardless of their uselessness the vessels pay homage to pottery and what it is expected to do, hold, preserve and store. Marsh often fills the bowls with simple ceramic forms which are also perforated.
The surfaces of the pieces are coated with between 4 and 6 coats of vitreous engobe. Marsh uses soft subtle colors for the containers and their contents; white is the most common color. In a departure from his minimalist mono color vessel forms he created a series of wall pieces. Each piece is composed of many brightly colored pieces. These pieces are enclosed in a frame, not unlike the way children?s colored blocks can be made to fit into their box.
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
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1998, 1999, 2001
Arts in Industry Program, Kohler Company, Kohler, Wisconsin
Mary Schiller Myers Residency, Meyers School of Art, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Residency Leader, Banff Center for the Arts, Alberta, Canada
- Primary Work Experience
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1995
Ceramic Artist
1991Adjunct Professor of Art, New York University, New York, New York
2002Ceramics Area Coordinator, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
Other
- Public Collections
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Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, New York
De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Gadsden Museum of Art, Gadsden, Alabama
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Meyers School of Art, University of Akron, Ohio
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
- Bibliography
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Adkins, Gretchen. “The Tulip Vase.” Ceramics: Art and Perception 25 (1996).
“Architectural Ornamentation.” Ceramics Monthly (February 2003).
Del Vecchio, Mark. Postmodern Ceramics. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 2001.
Dormer, Peter. The New Ceramics: Trends and Tradition, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1994.
“Emerging Talent.” Ceramics Monthly (November 1992).
Ferrin, Leslie. Teapots Transformed. Madison, WI: Guild Publishing, 2001.
Folk, Dr. Thomas. "Matt Nolen's Crusade for Healing." Ceramics: Art and Perception 21 (1995).
Gess, Terry, editor. 500 Pitchers: Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2006.
Lawrence, Lee Adair. “Art with Words.” American Style 6 (Fall 1996).
Lovelace, Joyce. “Rest Rooms.” American Craft (August/September 1999).
Mathieu, Paul. Sexpots: Eroticism in Ceramics, London, England: A & C Black Publishers Limited, 2003.
__________. “Speaking Volumes: Pottery and Words.” The Studio Potter 35, no.2 (2007).
“Matt Nolen.” American Ceramics 10, no.1 (Spring 1992).
Missett, Kate. “Grotesque Garden: Matt Nolen.” Ceramics: Art and Perception 88 (2012).
Nolen, Matt. “Artist as Citizen.” The Studio Potter 27, no. 2 (June 1999).
Ostermann, Matthias. The Ceramic Narrative. London, England: A&C Black Publishers Limited, 2006.
Peters, Lynn. Surface Decoration for Low Fire Ceramics. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1999.
“Portfolio.” American Craft 52, no. 2 (April/May 1992).
Rothman, Ann. “When Artists Use Words.” Ceramics: Art and Perception 26 (1996).
Schwartz, Judith, Confrontational Ceramics. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
Scott, Paul. Painted Clay: Graphic Arts and the Painted Surface. London, England: A&C Black Publishers Limited, 2002.
Slesin, Suzanne. “With Cups Raised to a High Art Form.” New York Times, January 7, 1993.
“Think Tanks.” Metropolis 11, no.5 (December 1991).
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Matt Nolen, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/matt-nolen
