Museum Monday - American Museum of Ceramic Art
There was a recent weekend visit to the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in Pomona, CA to view the exhibit “Architectural Pottery: Ceramics for a Modern Landscape” which runs through March 2, 2025. It was my first time at the museum and not only did I enjoy the pottery exhibit, but there were a couple of surprise Millard Sheets artwork there as well!
AMOCA opened its doors in 2004 and moved into its current location, a former Pomona First Federal Bank, in 2011. AMOCA is the largest museum dedicated to ceramic art in the country.
Pomona First Federal Bank commissioned Millard Sheets, a proud Pomona Valley native, to paint a 77 foot mural. Given free choice of his subject for the project, Sheets decided to portray the history of the valley, illustrating the native people of the region in scenes from the 18th century through the founding of the City of Pomona in 1888.
The image above shows a Peanut planter by John Follis, Model Number F-508, Introduced in 1950. In the background, a mural, “Panorama of the Valley” (1956), painted by Millard Sheets and Susan Hertel (Lautmann).
More images of the mural are in the gallery below, including one showing the artists’ signatures at the lower right of the mural beneath the Victorian ladies.
The exhibit description below is from AMOCA’s website:
Architectural Pottery: Ceramics for a Modern Landscape is curated by Jo Lauria, AMOCA’s Adjunct Curator.
The exhibition Architectural Pottery brings together work by the largely under-recognized ceramic artists and graphic and industrial designers Marilyn Kay Austin, Raul Angulo Coronel, David Cressey, Aurilla Doerner, Al Eggleston, John Follis, Leon Galleto, Rex Goode, Frank Krueger, Malcolm Leland, Paul McCobb, Jack Morris, Gordon Newell, and LaGardo Tackett.
Also on view are contemporary photographs by Dan Chavkin, period photographs of Architectural Pottery planters in situ in mid-century modern residences by Julius Shulman (Getty Research Institute Archive), original catalogs and ephemera from Architectural Pottery sourced from private collections, and reproductions of company materials from the UCLA Library Special Collection.
At the exhibit I learned about David Cressey, the first artist-in-residence at Architectural Pottery. I appreiciated the diverse selection of his work.
Condensed artist bio from 1stDibs:
Cressey, a multi-disciplinary artist, had a six-decade career and created pottery and ceramics that revolutionized indoor/outdoor planters with their architectural style.
Implementing artistic functionality into his pieces, Cressey designed in modern and mid-century modern styles. He created many planters, vases and table lamps, which remain highly desirable to collectors.
David Cressey’s multi-planters were some of my favorite pieces.
Below, a few views of a fun diaroma with miniature Architectural Pottery designs.
As I was leaving, I noticed “Alfred the Great”, a piece of glass and ceramic mosaic art by Millard Sheets. It was positioned to the left of the entrance. The artwork was acquired by AMOCA in 2016 from Tony Sheets. and had previously been housed in the Scottish Rite Temple on Wilshire Boulevard. Seeing the mosaic piece was a fitting and fine ending to my visit!
