Ralph Bacerra is known as one of the leading decorative ceramists of the 20th century. His work shows the influences of Asian art, especially Imari porcelain, and of 20th? and 21st?century abstract artists like M.C. Escher. Bacerra was one of the first American studio potters to create highly decorative surfaces using enamels and lusters, incising into the clay body, and over glaze china paint.
The vivid colors and contrasts of his characteristic glazes are then built up using up to ten separate firings, each firing in succession at a lower temperature than the previous. The rich jewel colors in complex patterns that appear on his works are the result of multiple controlled firings. Bacerra often started with an unglazed geometric vessel created using various thrown, hand-built, and cast components.
Bacerra was Chairperson of the Ceramics Department at Chouinard Institute from 1963 until the department was dissolved in 1971. He returned to teaching in 1983 at the Otis Art Institute, where he became Chairperson of the Ceramics Department, a position he held until 1997.
Other works by Bacerra
Bacerra in other collections
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Last updated: April 22, 2026
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