1973

Light Gatherer

American, 1911 - 2002

Rudolf Staffel is renowned for his work in porcelain, which he began using exclusively in the mid-1950s. His handling challenged the medium's traditional associations with delicacy and fragility. Hand-built objects such as this vase reveal his improvisational technique of pinching, pulling, layering, and patching the clay, creating a form that is simultaneously abstract and evocative of nature. Staffel intended the irregularities in the vase's body to heighten the drama of porcelain's translucency, as capturing effects of light was his ongoing passion.