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George Ohr Exhibit at the Erie Art Museum

"A Peculiar Vision: The Work of George Ohr, the Mad Potter of Biloxi" is
on exhibit at the Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania, from June 29
through November 3, 1996. This exhibition features the artistically
unique, technically unequalled work of the eccentric genius from
Mississippi. The pottery is drawn from private and public collections.
Collectors Ralph and Terry Kovel will be the guests of honor at the
Opening Gala set for Saturday, June 29, 1996. For more information, call
the Erie Art Museum at 814-459-5477, or e-mail eri...@erie.net.

This exhibition presents a diverse collection of the work of a most
unusual and talented artist, active at the last turn of the century.
Arguably the greatest American ceramic artist of the art pottery period,
Ohr alienated his contemporaries with unceasing and often tasteless
self-promotions which obscured rather than revealed his genius. When he
gave up ceramics completely in 1908 he stored the body of work he had
created over nearly three decades, with the hope that the Smithsonian
would ultimately recognize his talent and acquire the whole collection.
Instead, it collected dust until it was discovered by an antique dealer
in 1969, leading to his eventual rediscovery by scholars and collectors
of ceramic art. The Erie Art Museum exhibition is broadly representative
of Ohr's work, with examples of virtually every type of form he
produced, including not only the tour de force vessels for which he is
famous but also the novelties he made for sale at fairs and expositions
which clearly illustrate his background as a folk potter.

€ Erie Art Museum, 411 State Street Gallery Hours are Tuesday through
Saturday, 11-5; Sunday 1-5. For information, call the Erie Art Museum,
411 State Street, Erie, PA 16501, phone: (814) 459-5477, fax: (814)
452-1744, e-mail: erie...@erie.net.