Christopher Whittington

Christopher Whittington (b. 1962 Houston, Texas) was born into a family with a big sense of adventure. He remembers taking spur-of-the-moment drives into Mexico with his mother to admire Pre-Columbian ceramics, as well as surviving a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on a sailboat with his family. Whittington’s love of the unusual and vibrant came by being surrounded by unapologetically colorful walls and unique objects in his childhood home.  He teased rattlesnakes with sticks, freely roamed his neighborhood and generally had a creative upbringing.

Whittington attended St. Edwards University (Austin, TX). He graduated with a BFA (’86), majoring in British and American Literature. However, he dabbled deeply in the arts. One of his fulfillment classes was in ceramics, both in wheel throwing and hand building. He gelled so well with the sculptural aspects of his class that the instructor designed a curriculum specifically for him. This encouragement helped cement his love of the medium.

After his clay-filled years at St. Edwards, Whittington attended the Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY), but found the ceramics courses there underwhelming. The kiln was offline and the community seemed sparse. He departed quickly for the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, RI (but kept his studio mate and cat as friends for years!).

RISD (graduated ’92) was another animal completely. The rotating guest list of artists was impressive- and students of any discipline could attend them across the board. Between the artist talks, thoughtful critiques and ability to follow his own path, Whittington basked in his time there. The artist even created his own specialty clay body, a mixture featuring three kinds of grog. The clay was a bit rough on the hands, but was extremely sturdy to build with (and didn’t warp in the kiln!). 250 lbs of it was meticulously made and used to start a new series of work that would be part of his visual vocabulary for the next 30 years.

In process; the assembling of one of Whittington’s architectural sculptures

Whittington had spent some time living at the edge of Park Slope and Hell’s Kitchen in NYC, and took in the dense patchwork of buildings on his walks and errands. The sharp lines and vertical forms seeped right into his graduate work. Bright colors, matte glazes (super dry formulas) as well as whimsical forms grew from his hours in the studio. His time (and travels) to Houston to see family also had a continual influence. The Houston Oil Boom set in motion a frantic city expansion. Buildings of every nature sprang up during the first few decades of the 20th Century. Inspirational architecture was around each corner, from the humble to outrageous.

One of Whittington’s graduate pieces

After a very satisfying time at RISD, Whittington followed a girlfriend out to the Plains States and joined the University of Iowa (graduated ’96).  The school’s impressive wood firing kilns are what pulled him in. He spent endless hours feeding those kilns hardwood to achieve glazes that created unpredictable and beautiful results. Ash, gasses, and glazes came together to create blushes, and surfaces unlike anything made in standard studio kilns. Whittington picked up registration work at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and was quickly noticed for his ability to spot intense details (like damage inconsistencies). He was hired as an assistant registrar after his graduation.

Vessels and boxes with matte glazes and moving parts

The Cedar Rapids Museum housed a good number of Depression-era artworks that reflected American life during more ‘simple’ times. Factory and farm worker scenes in rural areas depicted by such artists as Grant Wood and Edward Hopper. Writer John Steinbeck and his common-man struggles also struck a cord with Whittington. The way his down-and-out characters struggled but had tight-knit families really moved him. Whittington also took note of the aging murals sponsored by Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) starting in 1934. The Regionalism art movement gave him a connection to another time, and stuck in his creative craw. The shapes in those renderings took hold, and became an homage to working life during those desperate times.

A small collection of the factory-inspired artwork created at LSPS-Lc by Whittington

After a few years at the museum, Whittington made a cross-country leap to become an art currier and installer for a D.C. company specializing in fine art exhibitions. Over the next decade his work took him to 47 of the 48 continental States, as well as countries like Switzerland, Italy, France and England. He was able to take in exhibitions from each installation assignment, as well as soak in the local nature (fly fishing was always on the menu). Whittington continuously had ceramic sculpture in his thoughts, but work and life kept him from being in the studio.

Three stunning vessels by Whittington: matte studio glaze (from L to R), horse hair Raku and a branch-impressed vase

A major life change in 2010 brought him to Chicago, after which he found his way to the LSPS-LC studio. It had been nearly 18 years without touching clay, and he was ready to hit the ground running. His sculptures took on industrial shapes (now Rust Belt inspired), but became exaggerated in ways that stretched and changed their original forms. Unusual textures, colors, lusters and firings all added to the abstraction. This gave the viewer a new way of seeing both the object and its original reference. Unexpected hues are also a way Whittington glorifies the forms. Making the mundane and almost Brutalist shapes glowing and important. It’s the artist’s way of  paying tribute to the hard work and pain that occurred in those original structures, as well as to past values.

Just a few examples of the wide variety of Whittington’s work

Whittington has recently ventured into functional art, creating vessels, boxes, bowls, tiles and pipes. The pieces are all one-off; created as a singular concept and assembled with measured authenticity. Hard edges, contrasting glazes and textures reflect his larger works. His time at LSPS-LC is part of the Independent Study program. The artist will come in, set up his supplies and projects and dive in for the next few hours. His pieces are incredibly precise, but his meticulous nature also leaves room for a whimsical presence. His underlying sense of humor and his love of color-for-color’s sake make their way into each piece. Whittington can be seen filing down and re-fitting corners for an entire afternoon. The end results are pieces that seem entirely too perfect to be made by hands and simple clay slabs. Rows of his factory forms stagger across the studio’s long display shelves, and his sculptural tiles beautifully fill out the wall space.

Boxes, vases and playful forms

The artist has been sharing his techniques and unique projects with the public through the studio’s Weekend Workshops. Every month, Whittington prepares slabs, and sketches a well-thought-out piece to teach his students. Bird houses, pipes, planters and cups all come out of the studio’s kilns looking professional! The high degree of quality is singularly Whittington’s ability to see beginners through challenging steps. Each student takes home a little work of art and a sense of artistic accomplishment.

Image from one of Whittington’s Weekend Workshop classes (L). An image of his own creations

Whittington has entered his more out-of-the box pieces into group shows over the years. A raku-fired architectural sculpture won a prize at a Montana-based exhibition judged by the venerable Wayne Higby. The artist was so enamored with the swirl of colors on Whittington’s piece that he publically gushed on about it for a long time. Whittington consistently shows his work, joining in the studio’s three annual events (Pottery of Protest Exhibition and the Holiday and Anniversary Sales and Shows). He dabbles in outdoor festivals and open studios hosted by LSPS-LC as well as by friends. The artist continues to look for representation, but in the meantime immerses himself in his creative practice.

Unusual Raku vessel by Whittington

Although it takes some time to get to know this introspective and seemingly quiet artist, his personality matches his colorful, thoughtful and layered work.

To see more of Christopher Whittington’s work, click HERE for his site.