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Phil Cornelius (b. 1934) likes working his own way. He is an artist aware of his ability to, as he puts it, “do the wrong thing and have it come out right." His signature “thinware”, which he has been producing since the early 1970’s, is ultra-thin and fired “right to the edge." These are difficult elements to bring together, but it works. The vessels he creates, while appearing delicate and vulnerable, are actually very strong, and have a kind of toughness to them. Beyond the unique construction of his vessels, the imagery he integrates into them also makes them unusual. While songbirds perching on teapots may seem benign, in Cornelius’ work nothing is that simple. The clever titles he gives each piece often allude to its multiple meanings. In his work songbirds may be sirens and teapot spouts, gun barrels.
Talented in the visual arts since an early age, Cornelius originally chose science as a major in college because he thought art would be too easy. When he was drafted into the US army in the middle of his college career, he used his 18 month tour of Europe to reacquaint himself with art, visiting museums and galleries during his off-duty hours. Returning to San Jose State University for his final year of undergraduate work, he took a ceramics class and found the medium to be both inspiring and demanding. After studying at the Claremont Colleges with Paul Soldner, he embarked on his career as a ceramist, determined to constantly push his work to the limits. Since 1965 he has been both an artist and a teacher, teaching at Pasadena City College and working in a local studio. His pieces can now be seen in major museum collections throughout the United States and Europe, and he is recognized in the ceramics community for his distinctive contributions to the medium.
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Education
San Jose State University
Claremont Graduate School
Museum Collections
Arizona State University Art Museum
Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York
French National Collection, Sevres, France
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Mint Museum of Craft & Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
The Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri
Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2003 Firehouse Gallery and Art Center, Norman, Oklahoma
1999 Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
1998 Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica
Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, Michigan
1997 Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1996 Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
1995 Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles
Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois
1994 Brendabella Art Center Canaberra, Australia National University
1993 Gallery Arka, Vilnius, Lithuania
1992 Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, Michigan
1991 Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles
Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
1989 Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles
1988 Garth Clark Gallery, New York
Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
Harbor College Art Gallery, Wilmington, California
1986 Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
1985 Esther Sak’s Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1984 Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
Southwest Crafts Center, San Antonio, Texas
Brentwood Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, Colorado
Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles
1983 Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles
Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, Colorado
1982 Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco
Hadler Rodriguez Gallery, New York
1981 Marcia Rodell Gallery, Los Angeles
1980 Aarnun Gallery, Pasadena, California
Belson Brown Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho
Marcia Rodell Gallery, Los Angeles
1979 Sun Valley Art Center, Sun Valley, Idaho
Meyer Breier and Weiss, San Francisco
1978 Aarnun Gallery, Pasadena, California
Cerro Coso College, Ridgecrest, California
1977 Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, Colorado
Four Elements Gallery, San Francisco
1976 Aarnun Gallery, Pasadena, California
Davis Art Center, Davis, California
1974 Ross/Friedman Gallery, Northridge, California
Mira Costa College, Carlsbad, California
1972 Brand Art Center, Glendale, California
1967 CeeJay Gallery, Los Angeles
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