A footed vase hand-thrown by Gertrud Natzler of simplified antique form rising on a flared foot and stem to a flared cup, featuring Otto Natzler's copper reduction glaze, marked by melt fissures across the surface.
Jewish artists Gertrud and Otto Natzler began their pioneering experiments in ceramics in the mid-1930s shortly after meeting in Vienna, seeking to transform the medium from craft to fine art. In March of 1938, the same day that the couple learned they had won a medal at the World Exposition in Paris that same year, their home country was invaded by the Nazis.
The couple fled to California within a few months, where they set up a new studio and quickly began to earn acclaim for innovations in both form and surface.
Getrud threw impressive thin-walled vessels by hand, while Otto experimented with glazes resulting in unusual textural effects which enhanced Getrud’s minimalist forms.
This vase is signed on the underside.
Height: 5 1/4 inches (13 centimeters)