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Kirk Mangus

A pot, a joke, a rhythm, a theory

New York

291 GRAND ST | MAY 20 - JUN 26, 2016

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Images

installation view of exhibition
installation view of exhibition
installation view of exhibition
installation view of several artworks
installation view of several artworks
installation view of several artworks
installation view of several sculptures
installation view of several sculptures
installation view of several sculptures
installation view of several artworks
Image of KIRK MANGUS's Green Guardian, 2008

KIRK MANGUS

Green Guardian, 2008

Earthenware and colored slips and glazes

16 1/2 x 13 x 13 1/2 in.

 

JCG8364

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Kat, 2008

KIRK MANGUS

Kat, 2008

Earthenware and colored slips and glazes

16 1/2 x 12 x 14 in.

 

JCG8365

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Pearl, 2008

KIRK MANGUS

Pearl, 2008

Earthenware and colored slips and glazes

11 1/2 x 9 x 10 1/2 in.

 

JCG8367

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Life In Suspension, 1989

KIRK MANGUS

Life In Suspension, 1989

Ink on mulberry paper

56 1/2 x 28 3/4 in.

 

JCG8346

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Bountiful Life Red Luster, 1986

KIRK MANGUS

Bountiful Life Red Luster, 1986

Luster glazed earthenware

8 1/2 x 11 x 5 in.

 

JCG8617

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Red Luster Floating World, 1986

KIRK MANGUS

Red Luster Floating World, 1986
Luster glazed earthenware
4 3/4 x 9 7/8 x 4 1/4 in.

 

JCG8618

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Only Cat, 1994

KIRK MANGUS

Only Cat, 1994

Luster glazed earthenware

4 3/4 x 8 1/8 x 3 1/4 in.

 

JCG8620

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Three Ships Amphora, 2009

KIRK MANGUS

Three Ships Amphora, 2009

Glazed earthenware

12 1/4 x 4 x 4 in.

 

JCG8622

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Flow of Life Bottle, 1999

KIRK MANGUS

Flow of Life Bottle, 1999
Salt glazed stoneware
16 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.
 
JCG8400
 

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Two Femme Vase, 1986

KIRK MANGUS

Two Femme Vase, 1986
Carved and wood fired stoneware
16 x 4 3/4 x 4 in.
 
JCG8404

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Dreaming Blue, 1980

KIRK MANGUS

Dreaming Blue, 1980

Reduction glazed porcelain

11 1/4 x 4 x 4 in.

 

JCG8623

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Man Swimming In the Ocean of Life, 1980

KIRK MANGUS

Man Swimming In the Ocean of Life, 1980
Wood fired porcelain
8 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. including lid
 
JCG8625

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Friendly Creatures In the Garden, 1997

KIRK MANGUS

Friendly Creatures In the Garden, 1997
Glazed porcelain
3 1/2 x 7 1/8 x 7 in.

 

JCG8610

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Pale King Carrot, 1984

KIRK MANGUS

Pale King Carrot, 1984
Salt glazed porcelain
8 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.

 

JCG8613

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Over Seas, 1980

KIRK MANGUS

Over Seas, 1980
Glazed porcelain
10 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.
 
JCG8607

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's King Carrot Head, 1984

KIRK MANGUS

King Carrot Head, 1984
Salt glazed porcelain
8 x 4 5/8 x 4 1/2 in.
 
JCG8614
 
 

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Two Men and Two Houses Face Vase,1982

KIRK MANGUS

Two Men and Two Houses Face Vase,1982
Earthenware and colored slips and glazes
10 1/4 x 6 x 4 3/4 in.

 

JCG8611

Image of KIRK MANGUS's David and Insect Face Vase, 1982

KIRK MANGUS

David and Insect Face Vase, 1982
Earthenware and colored engobes
9 5/8 x 5 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.

 

JCG8612

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Bunny Love Amphora, 1992

KIRK MANGUS

Bunny Love Amphora, 1992
Luster glazed earthenware
12 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 in.
 
JCG8615

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Jacky Amphora, 1993

KIRK MANGUS

Jacky Amphora, 1993
Salt and luster glazed stoneware
9 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.

 

JCG8616

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Pinky Face, 2009

KIRK MANGUS

Pinky Face, 2009

Glazed earthenware

9 1/4 x 4 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. including lid

 

JCG8626

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Golden Guardian and Girl, 2009

KIRK MANGUS

Golden Guardian and Girl, 2009
Glazed earthenware
9 1/4 x 6 x 6 in. including lid
 
JCG8629

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Golden Child, 2009

KIRK MANGUS

Golden Child, 2009

Glazed earthenware

9 1/4 x 6 x 6 in. including lid

 

JCG8628

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Basket Ziggurat, 2008

KIRK MANGUS

Basket Ziggurat, 2008

Glazed earthenware

16 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.

 

JCG8621

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's A Day In the Neighborhood, 1999

KIRK MANGUS

A Day In the Neighborhood, 1999
Ink on mulberry paper
17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8431

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Mermaid in Paradise, 1999

KIRK MANGUS

Mermaid in Paradise, 1999

Ink on mulberry paper

17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8434

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Journey to Yelpa, 1999

KIRK MANGUS

Journey to Yelpa, 1999

Ink on mulberry paper

17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8429

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Views,1999

KIRK MANGUS

Views,1999
Ink on mulberry paper
17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8432

Image of KIRK MANGUS's The Gang, 1990

KIRK MANGUS

The Gang, 1990
Ink on mulberry paper
17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8411

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Everyone Was There, 1988

KIRK MANGUS

Everyone Was There, 1988
Ink on mulberry paper
17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8418

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Basket Head, 1988

KIRK MANGUS

Basket Head, 1988

Ink on mulberry paper

17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8416

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Basket Armor, 1988

KIRK MANGUS

Basket Armor, 1988

Ink on mulberry paper

17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8425

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Woven Body, 1989

KIRK MANGUS

Woven Body, 1989

Ink on mulberry paper

17 x 12 1/2 in.

 

JCG8426

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Chubby Bunny, c.1987

KIRK MANGUS

Chubby Bunny, c.1987

Stoneware and colored slips

48 x 24 1/4 x 24 in.

 

JCG8361

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Bronze Femme IV, 1986

KIRK MANGUS

Bronze Femme IV, 1986

Stoneware and bronze glaze

38 x 15 x 12 in.

 

JCG8603

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Rainbow Femme, c.1987

KIRK MANGUS

Rainbow Femme, c.1987

Stoneware and colored slips

44 1/2 x 21 1/4 x 17 1/2 in.

 

JCG8362

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Girl With Ponytail Femme, 1986-87

KIRK MANGUS

Girl With Ponytail Femme, 1986-87

 Stoneware and colored slips

51 1/2 x 20 1/4 x 17 1/4 in.

 

JCG8360

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Lakeside Summer Yellow Femme, 1989

KIRK MANGUS

Lakeside Summer Yellow Femme, 1989

Ink and watercolor on paper

87 1/2 x 52 1/4 in.

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Animal Love, 1999

KIRK MANGUS

Animal Love, 1999

Carved and wood fired stoneware

36 x 8 1/2 x 8 in.

 

JCG8378

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Two Guardians Jar, 1984

KIRK MANGUS

Two Guardians Jar, 1984

Carved and wood fired stoneware

27 x 16 x 15 1/2 in.

 

JCG8375

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Cat Girl On the Farm Jar, 1985

KIRK MANGUS

Cat Girl On the Farm Jar, 1985

Carved and wood fired stoneware

36 3/4 x 17 1/2 x 17 in.

 

JCG8368

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Love & War Amphora, 1998

KIRK MANGUS

Love & War Amphora, 1998

Carved and wood fired stoneware

30 1/4 x 11 x 10 1/2 in.

 

JCG8381

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Wild Life Jar, 1983

KIRK MANGUS

Wild Life Jar, 1983

Carved and wood fired stoneware

36 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 18 in.

 

JCG8369

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Pymatuming, 2000

KIRK MANGUS

Pymatuming, 2000

Ink on mulberry paper

56 1/4 x 28 1/4 in.

 

JCG8334

 

Image of KIRK MANGUS's Cat Girl In Paradise, 1997

KIRK MANGUS

Cat Girl In Paradise, 1997

Ink on mulberry paper

56 1/2 x 28 1/2 in.

 

JCG8340

 

Press Release

Kirk Mangus - A pot, a joke, a rhythm, a theory - Exhibitions - James Cohan

KIRK MANGUS, Green Guardian, 2008 Earthenware, colored slips and glazes, 16 1/2 x 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.

 

OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY MAY 20 6-8PM

 
James Cohan is pleased to present the exhibition A pot, a joke, a rhythm, a theory, by the late Kirk Mangus (1952-2013) opening at the gallery’s Lower East Side location May 20 and running through June 26. Following a major career retrospective at MOCA Cleveland, this is Mangus’s first exhibition in New York and showcases a selection of ceramics and drawings that represent 30 years of the artist’s prolific output.
 
Mangus was a beloved and celebrated member of the international ceramics community, as well as a dedicated teacher and mentor at Kent State University for over three decades. Over the course of his career, his work drew on a multitude of influences, from comics to prehistoric animal figures, modernist abstraction, American folk, Japanese woodblock prints, Meso-American archetypes, and Asian ceramic traditions. 
 
His graphic sensibility, heavily incised surfaces, as well as custom stamping and applied decoration with signature motifs including animals, plants, and bodies draw equally from Mangus’s observation as from his own invention. A masterful raconteur, Mangus was inspired by the long-standing traditions of storytelling through clay. Creating a mythological world of his daily experience, he developed a rich cast of characters drawn from his own life and interests that populate his drawings and ceramic works.  
Characterized by their rough-hewn figures, a playful, gestural style, and experimental glazing, Mangus’s forms teem with life and energy.  “I do a lot of drawings,” Mangus wrote, “both on paper and clay. This work is about recording a gesture; putting down a mark…” It is this experimental nature, expression of urgency and untapped stream of creation that unites Mangus’s work across style and medium. 
 
Delighting in finding beauty in the most unlikely of forms, Mangus’s work reveals itself as beautiful through familiarity and consideration. As curator Rose Bouthillier describes, “Mangus sought to re-negotiate concepts of beauty and mastery, proposing an unguarded, impassioned way of thinking, making, living, and loving.”
 
The subject of numerous solo exhibitions including a major career retrospective, Things Love, at MOCA Cleveland in 2014, Mangus’s work has been widely exhibited both nationally and internationally since the mid-1970s. He has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh;  Akron Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum; Seoul National Museum of Contemporary Art; Gummeson Gallery, Stockholm; and the Finnish Craft Museum, Helsinki. 
 
Mangus’s work is housed in a number of national and international collections, including Amsterdam Municipal Collection, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum, Sandy Besser Collection at DeYoung Museum, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul,  Newark Museum of Art; and the Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis.
 
For press inquiries, please contact Jeffrey Waldron at jwaldron@jamescohan.com or 212-714-9500.
 
For other inquiries, please contact Allison Galgiani at agalgiani@jamescohan.com or 212-714-9500.
 
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