Artist: Harry Levenstein
Harry Levenstein, MA
Artist Statement
My work is rooted in traditional techniques of pottery-making, drawing inspiration from folk and fine craft traditions including Japan, England, India, and America. By blending personal experience and sense of place with these influences, I pay homage to the rich multicultural heritage of craft that has shaped our understanding of form and function, and shine a light on the importance of the beautiful, well-crafted, and useful handmade object.
Using the potter’s wheel, I make pots which retain the soft quality of the workable clay and leave room for the effects left by the fire in the wood kiln. I utilize a variety of decorative techniques including slips, slip-trailing, gestural brushwork, carving and rope-impression. I make and decorate leaving the evidence of my touch.
The woodfire process leaves room for serendipity, underscores the beauty of natural processes, and allows for a direct interaction between myself and the fire. My training in woodfiring has offered me the working knowledge to harness the technique to my advantage, and the humility to know that the credit for its aesthetic boons can never be wholly mine; it is an elemental collaboration which offers the perfect venue for this dance of intention and chance.
This work celebrates the enduring relevance of traditional methods while infusing them with personal perspective. Each piece stands as a testament to the relationship between maker, material, nature, and place embodying a dialogue that transcends generations.
Education
Studio Internship, Mark Hewitt Pottery, Pittsboro, North Carolina 2024
Artist in Residence, La Meridiana International School of Ceramics, Tuscany, Italy 2023
Artist in Residence, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, Montana 2019-2020
Artist in Residence, Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry, India 2019
Apprenticeship, Simon Levin, Gresham, WI/Pawnee, IL 2017-2018
Studio Internship, Peter Olsen (Yama Project), Index, WA 2016-2017
Post Baccalaureate semester, College of the Redwoods, Eureka, CA 2015
Bachelor of Arts Degree, Studio Art: Ceramics Emphasis, Humboldt State University,
Arcata, CA 2014
Bachelor of Arts Degree, Art Education, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 2014
Professional Experience
Adjunct Faculty, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, MA 2021-2025
Lab Technician/Artist in Residence, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington,
MA 2020-2025
-
Maintain studio functions, i.e. making/formulating class clay/glazes/slips, organization/cleanliness
-
Maintain/repair studio equipment
-
Build studio infrastructure
-
Load and fire Skutt electric kilns, Bailey downdraft gas kiln, custom soda kiln, and woodfire kiln
-
Manage 1-3 work study students
-
Engage with and instruct ceramics students
-
Maintain strong personal studio practice
Contributor, The Studio Potter Journal Online 2021-present
Soda Kiln Build, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, MA 2023
Invited Workshop Instructor, Double Fire Workshop with Andrew Sartorius, The Oki Doki Studio, Germantown, NY 2023 & 2024
Invited Workshop Instructor, Feast & Flame, La Meridiana International School of Ceramics, Tuscany, Italy 2023 & 2025
Invited Workshop Instructor, Reduction-cooled Train Kiln Firing Workshop, The Oki Doki Studio, Germantown, NY 2021 & 2022
Invited Artist, Sugarmaples Pottery Festival, Maplecrest, NY 2022, 2023, 2024
Workshop Assistant, Oki Doki Anagama Firing with Andrew Sartorius, The Oki Doki Studio, Germantown, NY 2021
Workshop Assistant, Simon Levin’s Intimate Anagama III, Mill Creek Pottery, Gresham, WI 2018 & 2022
- Prep wood for firing. Splitter and chainsaw maintenance
- Assist students with loading and firing the anagama
Studio Assistant, Penland School of Crafts, Summer Session 1, Simon Levin’s See What You Did. 2018
- Organize students and establish class policies and procedures
- Maintain accurate records of clay and materials sales
- Facilitate loading and firing of both of Penland’s woodfire kilns
- Facilitate loading and firing of Penland’s catenary arch soda kiln
Online Contributor, NCECA Green Task Force 2014-2017
Lab Technician, Fire Arts Center, Arcata, CA 2015-2012
Selected Exhibitions
Sustain: NC Woodfire Conference International Juried Exhibition, Schoolhouse Gallery, Star, NC 2025
Syncretics: Crafting Identity, (Curated and exhibited), Schacht Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY 2025
Solo Exhibition, flores cinis terra, Hillman-Jackson Gallery, Great Barrington, MA 2024
Abel Contemporary Cup Show, Abel Contemporary Gallery, Stoughton, WI 2024
Furthermore, Wooten Clayworks, Hackensack, NJ 2023
Juried National VII, Juried by Steven Young Lee, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT 2023
The Will of the Kiln, Juried exhibition in concurrence with New England Woodfire Conference, Juried by Chris Gustin, Painted Path Gallery, Woodbridge, CT 2023
ABC Tableware Show, Above Board Ceramics, New Haven, CT 2023
Three Ceramic Artists & Their Dance with Fire, Citiot, Catskill, NY 2023
ABC Tableware Show, Above Board Ceramics, New Haven, CT 2022
Functional Ceramics Exhibition, Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster, OH 2022
Worcester Pottery Invitational, Worcester Center for Craft, Worcester, MA 2022
Summer is Served: Breakfast, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL 2022
Playing with Fire: Altered Atmospheres, Saratoga Clay Art Center, Schuylerville, NY 2021
Cup of Joy, Trackside Studio, Spokane, WA 2020
Strictly Functional Pottery National, Kevin Lehman's Pottery, 560 South Prince Street, Rear
Lancaster, PA 2024, 2020, 2016, & 2015
Solo Exhibition, Foreign Soil, 25 Rue Dumas, Pondicherry, India 2019
Form & Function, 11th Annual Cup Show, Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, FL 2019
Working Pots III, (purchase award), James May Gallery, 213 Steele Street, Algoma, WI 2018
KOBO Simple Cup Show, KOBO Seattle, 602 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 2017
Out of the Ashes, Morean Center for Clay, 420 22nd St S, St. Petersburg, FL 2016
POUR: Function + Form, Belger Crane Yard Studios, Kansas City, MO 2015
Publications
Out & About Magazine feature, Fall 2023 issue 2023
The Artful Mind feature interview with Harryet Candee, May 2023 issue 2023
Developing a Maker’s Philosophy, The Potter’s Cast Podcast 2022
An Unconventional Life, Studio Potter Magazine, August 2022 issue 2022
The Tulip Tree, Studio Potter Magazine, May 2021 issue 2021
Wonderfully Wild in Alabama: An Interview with Zach Sierke, Studio Potter Magazine,
November 2021 issue 2021
Green Task Force Conference Recap + Interview with Joy Hosterman, NCECA Green Task Force Blog 2017
Ten Tips to Reduce Studio Waste, NCECA Green Task Force Blog 2015
Recognition
Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant for Artists recipient 2023
Hideo Mabuchi’s NCECA presentation, Microscopic Analysis of Woodfired Surfaces 2022
Honorable Mention, Playing with Fire: Altered Atmospheres, Saratoga Clay Art Center 2021
Purchase Award, Working Pots III, James May Gallery 2018
3D Art Award, College of the Redwoods Annual Juried Show 2015
Martin Wong Scholarship Award, Martin Wong Scholarship Foundation 2013
Mary Whitney Memorial Art Scholarship, Redwood Decorative Artists 2013