Very rare mid-century vase from the Muddy Wheel studio. Legendary artist and teacher, Fred Robert Wilson (1932-2012) led Los Angeles community arts groups and introduced inner-city kids to the arts. In 1968, as his pottery found wide audiences in exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, he opened the Muddy Wheel Gallery in Van Nuys.
This large vase was executed by Marc Gerstel in 1970 as a young apprentice to Wilson at the Muddy Wheel. The faces are reminiscent of Fred's work with pottery masks and one of his teaching techniques - he challenged some students to make clay heads after a living model, an older historian named A.B. "Art" Perkins (see photo).
