Artist: Haakon Lenzi

Haakon Lenzi, NEW YORK

BIO

Born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Haakon Lenzi was first exposed to the potter's wheel in high school and has been throwing his life away ever since. Haakon received a BFA in ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University where he was greatly influenced by his studies in printmaking, sculpture and anthropology. He then continued his studies in an independent study at Columbia University's Teacher's College.

Haakon has been a visiting artist at Goggle Works and Columbia University’s Teacher’s College and has exhibited nationally, including The Jane Hartstok Gallery in New York City, The Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis as well as NCECA (The National Council on the Education of the Ceramic Arts). Currently he is a faculty member of Greenwich House Pottery in New York City. Haakon maintains an active studio practice in his East Harlem “El Barrio” studio where he produces his signature Lenziware pottery, combining his love for historical ceramics with the visual and cultural density of his hometown.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I make functional pottery as a way of relating to the world. My pots are meant to be used and be a part of people's daily lives. I usually have multiple bodies of work, but since 2017, I have focused mainly on Slipware and Agateware. My Slipware work exists somewhere between the Renaissance Bookmaking tradition and the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show. The marbled surfaces create a Rorschach Test of sorts, allowing the users to create own meaning and draw on their own subconscious.

My Agateware work is of course in dialogue with the rich history of agateware and nariage pottery. However, my main reference points are geology, science fiction and weird internet culture.

EDUCATION

New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University , Class of 2010 Alfred, New York Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics

Columbia University Teachers College, Non-Degree seeking independent study 2010 - 2014, NY, NY

EXPERIENCE

92nd Street Y, 2020 – Present • Teaching advanced wheel throwing classes.

Bklyn Clay, January 2019 – Present, New York, New York • Teaching beginner wheel throwing classes.

Yonkers Pottery Studio, October 2018, Yonkers, New York, Visiting Artist • Conducted a two day workshop “Radical Surfaces & Traditional Form” • Demonstrated the surface treatments featured in my work ie slip marbling

Columbia University Teachers College, October 2018, New York, New York, Visiting Artist ● Conducted wheel throwing and surface treatment demonstrations to graduates students, provided a historical and contemporary perspective of ceramics and discussed various approaches to ceramic pedagogy.

NY Ceramics & Glass Fair, January 2018, New York, New York, Panelist • “The Meaning of Objects and How They Educate, Stimulate and ‘Speak’ to us” Moderated by Thomas Lollar, co panelists include Dr. Judith Burton, Paul Limperopolus and Victoria Shoenfeld.

Gasworks, August 2017-2019, New York, New York, Instructor • Teaching beginner/ intermediate wheel throwing classes

Greenwich House Pottery, April 2013- Present, New York, New York, Instructor ● Teaching beginner/ intermediate wheel throwing classes in six and twelve week sessions. ● Demonstrating wheel throwing, handbuilding, surface design and basic glaze theory as well as providing individual instruction. ● Regular workshop series covering glaze theory and glaze application for cone 10 gas reduction firing.

College of Mount Saint Vincent, January 2014- January 2016, Bronx, New York, Adjunct Professor ● Instructing Ceramics I and II classes. ● Creating syllabi that focuses on hand building techniques to be implemented in making functional and sculptural works as well as providing a historical and contemporary perspective of ceramics.

Greenwich House Pottery, April 2013- July 2014, New York, New York, Studio Technician ● Responsible for maintaining an active ceramics school of over three hundred students. ● Mixing clay and glaze, scheduling and firing of all gas and electric kilns, as well as assisting students and resident artist in technical issues.

STUDIO EXPERIENCE

- Wheel throwing and various handbuilding techniques

- Gas, electric, wood, salt and soda kiln firings

- Clay and glaze formulation

- Plaster mold making, casting, and non-plaster mold systems

- Mig, tig, and oxy acetylene welding/ flame cutting

- Ceramic print techniques - screen-printing, ceramic decals, wax & paper resist - Print media - woodcuts, acid etching & litho stone

EXHIBITIONS

2022

“Pots, Pots, Pots” Curator/ Organizer and Exhibiting Artist, Flatiron District, NY, NY

2022