Peter Shire is an LA-based artist whose subversive humour and playfulness extend throughout his work and made him a natural fit for the controversial and iconic Milan-based Memphis design group, of which he was a founding member.

The ceramic teapots made by Shire straddle the line distinguishing functional objects and pure sculpture. His brightly coloured, imaginatively shaped, and often witty designs are created under the influence of pop culture, the transformations of the landscape of late-twentieth-century Los Angeles, and by the work of important twentieth-century artists and designers.

With texts by Peter Shire, Hunter Drohojowska-Philp and Norman M. Klein.

Produced on the occasion of Ron Nagle: Five O’Clock Shadow at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, September 11 – October 24, 2015. Nagle is known for his intimately scaled sculptures made of ceramic elements that are slip-cast, fired, and embellished with epoxy and other synthetic materials that allow him to expand his forms beyond the limits of clay. Some are glazed to a hot-rod finish, others textured like stucco and then airbrushed.

Produced on the occasion of Ron Nagle: Ice Breaker at Matthew Marks Gallery, 1062 North Orange Grove, January 21–April 8, 2017.

Nagle is known for his intimately scaled sculptures made of ceramic elements that are slip-cast, fired, and embellished with epoxy and other synthetic materials that allow him to expand his forms beyond the limits of clay. Some are glazed to a hot-rod finish, others textured like stucco and then airbrushed.

Produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Ron Nagle: Lincolnshire Squire at Modern Art, London, 10 September–18 December 2020.

Mixing traditional materials such as ceramic and porcelain with epoxy resin and catalysed polyurethane, Nagle’s works attain an almost impossible physical quality, their indefinability echoed in the deft wit of their titles, such as Vapor Caper or Curly Centurion. This catalogue illustrates 22 new works by the artist and features an essay by Dan Fox, former Frieze magazine Editor-at-Large.

GRAPEVINE~ documents an exhibition curated by artist Ricky Swallow at David Kordansky Gallery during the summer of 2013. It focuses on the work of five California-based artists who redefined the use of clay in contemporary art, and includes images of works created over a period of more than 50 years. Ceramic sculptures by Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Michael Frimkess, John Mason, Ron Nagle, and Peter Shire exemplify the ways in which the medium underwent dramatic changes after World War II. Also included are select works by other artists influential in this dialogue, such as Ken Price and Peter Voulkos. An essay by Swallow explores the movement’s idiosyncrasies and cross-currents, as well as its influence on subsequent generations of artists.

Text: Ricky Swallow. Photography: Fredrik Nilsen. Design: Sinisa Mackovic & Robert Milne.

Invitation card produced on the occasion of Ken Price’s exhibition Sculpture and Drawings at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, 22 September–4 November, 2006

For over 50 years, Ken Price produced small-scale, brightly colored ceramic sculptures with exquisitely worked glazed and painted surfaces in which he achieved a balance between form and surface. In recent years, Price began making works in much larger sizes. His youthful experiences as a surfer in Los Angeles greatly influenced his art, which he explained as the manifestation of that which he found pleasurable.