The Clay Art of Adrian Saxe

Saxe's postmodern ceramics are witty, evocative, sometimes outrageous. The California artist ransacks and reinvents disparate traditions--Chinese porcelain, European courtware, English Wedgewood, etc.--often lacing them with contemporary references. Oil lamps in the shape of cactus sprigs seem to dance and sway in concert with their flames; torso-shaped jars assume anthropomorphic qualities; gourds decorated with gold luster, cubic zirconia or Mickey Mouse ears evoke loopy parallels to Sevres vases or Japanese polychromes. Sometimes an antelope, elephant or ram is perched atop a vessel, symbolic of untamed nature in potent opposition to culturally passed-down forms. This well-illustrated catalogue documents an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Lynn, a curator there, and art historian Collins of Notre Dame University provide an informative commentary on an artist whose pungent works tease and provoke. (Apr.)