New Work

In a one person show at the Frank Lloyd Gallery from January 15 – February 19, 2005, John Mason will present new ceramic sculpture. The exhibition will include an extension of Mason's Orbits series, as well as an installation of his Crosses. The Orbits, elegant geometric sculptures, are made of rounded planes that extend from a central axis. Simple, linear designs trace their surfaces.  The larger, more angular Crosses bend and fold in complex patterns. Powerful but refined, the Crosses are constructed of slabs of clay and fired as one massive, monochromatic form.

Mason's work in these two series extends his exploration of the language of symmetry and group theory, a branch of geometry.  Mason explores the concepts of translation, inversion, reflection and symmetry.  Mason's investigation of these concepts dates back to the 1970's and the fire brick installations known as the Hudson River Series.  Working with fire brick, Mason created complex structures from simple units.  After completing this series, Mason returned to ceramics. The new forms he created, in his words, "incorporated twists, torques, and rotations. The surface patterns utilized concepts based on symmetry."  These ideas continue to inform his work today. 

"A major figure in ceramic sculpture, Mason emerged in the mid-1950s as one of the leaders of a revolution that transformed clay from a craft to a fine art medium… In his latest work, Mason has proved himself a master builder and sculptor who knows how to get the most out of a relatively simple three dimensional form."
--Suzanne Muchnic, ArtNews

John Mason is one of the most important artists working in Los Angeles today. Since the late 1950s, when he exhibited at the legendary Ferus Gallery, Mason has had one-man shows at the Pasadena Museum of Art (1960 and 1974), the Los Angeles County Museum (1966), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1978), and the Hudson River Museum (1978), among others.