Claude Horan: A Retrospective of Ceramic Works
February 20 - May 2, 2004

Organized by The Contemporary Museum and the Koa Gallery at Kapiolani Community College, this two-part exhibition presents an overview of the ceramic works of Claude Horan and explores his contribution to the development of contemporary ceramics in Hawai‘i.

The Contemporary Museum exhibition, on view February 20 – May 2, focuses on Horan’s early works, particularly his studio ceramics or functional forms from the mid 1940s through the 1960s. Horan’s vessels are notable for their refined forms and beautiful glazes, many of which he developed through experimentation.

Horan’s sculptural forms and more recent works are the focus of part two of the retrospective exhibition, on view at Koa Gallery March 10 – April 16, with an interim closure during spring break, March 22 – 27. The KCC exhibition presents a large selection of Horan’s figurative ceramics, revealing an interest in the human figure that has occupied him throughout his career. These works range from rough, nearly abstract forms to highly simplified and stylized evocations of the body to monumental works that combine aspects of the body and vessel shapes.

Horan is currently professor emeritus of art at University of Hawai‘i—Manoa, where he taught from 1947 to his retirement in 1978. He is the recipient of the 2004 Koa Outstanding Achievement Award, presented by Kapiolani Community College to visual artists and individuals connected to the arts for dedication to and advancement of the arts in Hawai‘i. He will be honored at a dinner at KCC on April 13.

Horan has said, “I came into art through the back door.” Born in 1917 in Long Beach, California, the artist’s early passions were swimming, water polo and surfing. His abilities as a waterman led to his recruitment by San Jose State University, where he chose art as his major because, he admits, “Art—cinch courses—no homework—easy to keep eligible for sports!” He liked ceramics because all he had to do was make pots, and began to apply what he had learned from competitive sports to this pursuit: “Me against the wheel, striving for perfection, as I had done with my swimming strokes and surfing techniques.” Gradually, Horan’s interest in ceramics superceded his water activities and he began to concentrate on throwing pots full-time. Horan would go on to receive a BA degree in art from San Jose State University in 1942 and an MA degree in art from Ohio State University in 1946.

Horan left a position as an instructor in ceramics at SJSU in 1947 to establish the ceramics program in the UH art department. His students included Toshiko Takaezu and Henry Takemoto, who went on to become nationally known artists and teachers in their own right, as well as many of the ceramic artists who have lived and worked in Hawai‘i over the last five decades. Another of his students, Harue Oyama McVay, returned to the University of Hawai‘i in 1951 and taught alongside Horan, becoming chair of the ceramics program upon Horan’s retirement in 1978. While Horan became known for his mastery of technical fundamentals, he was more interested in the sculptural possibilities of clay and encouraged his students, by example, to “break all the so-called rules of working with clay.”

In Hawai‘i Horan began to make more sculptural forms, both representational and abstract, as well as architectural works and outdoor sculptures, often in collaboration with his wife Suzi Pleyte Horan. After a sabbatical leave in 1967 during which he learned glass blowing, the next year Horan began teaching glass classes at UH (this exhibition also includes several examples of Horan’s work in glass).

Claude Horan: A Retrospective of Ceramic Works was curated by James Jensen, TCM’s Associate Director/Chief Curator, and David Behlke, Director of the Koa Gallery at KCC. The exhibition catalogue includes an essay by Marcia Morse on Horan’s career and impact on the development of ceramics in Hawai‘i. The exhibition is supported in part by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.