Russ Vogt
ceramic and steel
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505.820.0807 call or text • art@owencontemporary.com
Russ Vogt
Vogt has made a name for himself with large-scale outdoor sculptures in totem form, which are colorful as they are bold: “Since living in a rural environment, I’ve had an interest in largescale outdoor ceramic sculpture. My perspectives on color, gesture, scale, essence and vitality have ultimately led me to build my pole sculptures. These forms are covered with handmade, brightly colored tile.. The components are large-scale extruded, wheel-thrown, and hand built earthenware forms. The tube-like components are stacked spontaneously on an underlying steel pipe structure. These poles can be seen as individuals, configured as fences, clustered together, mounted on concrete walls, or on the sides of buildings. The technique of hollow form construction using steel, reinforced concrete and high-fired, vitrified ceramic makes them perfect for indoor or outdoor use.”
Vitreous ceramics are taken to new heights in the sculptures of Russ Vogt, who has perfected the technique of brushing and high-firing up to five layers of glazes onto extruded and hand-built earthenware. His whimsical combinations of these jewel-toned pieces withstand anything the elements can deliver, looking gloriously chic both indoors and out.
With his master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Chicago, IL, Vogt began his career as a colorist oil painter. Ceramics entered his life in the late 1990s after a visit to New Mexico. “I was intrigued by coyote fences and imagined what they might look like if each twisted juniper trunk was a different color,” Vogt recalls.
Thus was born his “pole sculptures,” which comprise hollow ceramics that are threaded onto steel rods. “I started out making them for myself, but they received great response,” he explains. “I glaze and fire a variety of forms in different colors and sizes, then sort them into boxes stacked throughout my studio. As I assemble these over-scaled ‘beads’, one color leads to the next. Sometimes I add figural elements such as faces or bird heads, which give the sculptures a totem appearance.”