- Hans Coper
Hans Coper (1920–1981), was an influential British studio potter. His work is often coupled with that of
Lucie Rie due to their close association, even though their best known work differs dramatically, with Rie's being more functional and traditional, while Coper's was much more abstract and assuredly non-functional.Born in
Chemnitz ,Germany , Hans Coper fled to Britain in 1939. He wasinterned as anenemy alien , and held inCanada for two years; on return to Britain in 1941, he served as aconscientious objector in theNon-Combatant Corps .In 1946, with no previous experience in ceramics, he began working as an assistant in the studio of
Lucie Rie . It is from this time you will find tea sets and cups and saucers made by both Rie and Coper. By the time he left in 1958 to establish his own studio at Digswell House inHertfordshire , he was already well known as a potter in his own right, experimenting with much more abstract forms that were at the time considered very ahead of their time. Because of the success of his work, he went on to became a leading figure in the 20th century studio pottery movement. Throughout the 1960s he taught ceramics at theCamberwell School of Art and theRoyal College of Art . He died inFrome ,Somerset in 1981 ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Coper would characteristically throw his work on the
potter's wheel , then alter and assemble pieces by hand to achieve the finished form. Thus, although made on the wheel, his work has a sculptural quality and is non-functional. The surfaces of his pots tend to be roughly textured and colored withoxides , especiallymanganese oxide . His distinctive pots take on recognizable "forms" he termed Spade, Bud, Cup, Egg, Flower and Arrow.Coper's work was widely exhibited and collected even in his lifetime. Today, it is found in the collections of major museums around the world, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art , theVictoria and Albert Museum , the Sainsbury Collection, as well as in private collections worldwide. His work can often be found being sold in the best auction houses in bothLondon andNew York ; commanding prices of tens of thousands for rare and important works.Bibliography
# Birks, Tony. "Hans Coper", Marston House Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0-9517700-0-4
# Coatts, Morgot (ed.). "Lucie Rie and Hans Coper: Potters in Parallel", Herbert Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7136-4697-7.
# Frankel, Cyril. "Modern Pots: Hans Coper, Lucie Rie & their Contemporaries", University of East Anglia Press, 2002. ISBN 0-946009-36-8.External links
* [http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/coper.htm Brief "Ceramics Today" article about Hans Coper]
* cite web |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum
url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/ceramics/points_of_view/pots/coper/index.html
title= Hans Coper, 'Pot'
work=Ceramics
accessdate= 2007-12-09
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