Tony Natsoulas
Tony Natsoulas is known for large-scale witty figurative and portrait ceramic sculptures. Referencing Pop Art and California Funk, Natsoulas? work is described as ?camp? for its exaggerations, theatricality, and satirical approach to ...
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About
- Biography
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Tony Natsoulas is known for large-scale witty figurative and portrait ceramic sculptures. Referencing Pop Art and California Funk, Natsoulas? work is described as ?camp? for its exaggerations, theatricality, and satirical approach to the subject. While most influenced by Robert Arneson, Natsoulas also studied with the artists Robert Brady, Roy DeForest, Wayne Thiebaud, and, less formally, with artists David Gilhooly and Clayton Bailey.
His figures range from commissioned to celebrities ceramic portraits sometimes portrayed in period costume. Detail and themes are influenced by images from popular culture, absurd television shows, people, toys, cartoons, plays, and nostalgic movies. Natsoulas began making larger-than-life exaggerated ceramic busts in 1997. He uses a sculptural technique similar to that of Arneson: his sculptures lack depth front to back. His figures are caricatures often with enlarged heads.His approach to the work is influenced byRobert Arneson,his former teacher, at University of California, Davis.
An interview with Tony Natsoulas conducted August 9-11, 2004 by Liza Kirwin for the Archives of American Art's Oral History Program is available at:
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-tony-natsoulas-12133
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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1985—
Studio Artist
1982-1983Ceramic Department Technician, Maryland Institute, College of Art Baltimore, Maryland
1984Gallery Assistant, Memorial Union Gallery, University of California
1983-1985Ceramic Sculpture Teaching Assistant, University of California at Davis, Davis, California
1985-1987Lecturer in Ceramics, California State University at Stanislaus, Stanislaus, California
1989Instructor in Ceramics, Butte College, Oroville, California
2003—Instructor at Alpha Fired Arts, Sacramento, California
2011-2013Curator and Preparator, Shimo Center for the Arts, Sacramento, California
2011—Curator and Preparator, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, California
Other
- Public Collections
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American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
Foothills Ceramic Art Museum, Grass Valley, California
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, California
MIAAO, Museo Internazionale delle Arti Applicate Oggi, Turin, Italy
Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
San Jose Art Museum, San Jose, California
The Di Rosa Foundation, Napa, California
The Midwest Museum of American Art , Elkhart, IndianaThe Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, Shigaraki, Japan
Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CaliforniaUniversity of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa
- Bibliography
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Elsasser Brian.” Tony Natsoulas at the Crocker Art Museum.” ArtWeek Magazine (November 2002).
Jones, Bill. Sculpture Techniques. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2015.
Martin, Brigitte. Humor in Craft, Atglen, PA:Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2014.
Schwartz, Judith. Confrontational Ceramics. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
Shields, Scott. “Tony Natsoulas, Camping it Up.” Ceramics Art and Perception (March 2003).
Smith, Nan, ed. 500 Figures in Clay, Volume 2. New York, NY: Lark Books, 2014.
- CV or Resume
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Herrera, Carolyn E
- Website(s)
Citation: Herrera, Carolyn E Tony Natsoulas, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/tony-natsoulas
