Images from MIND+MATTER & Don Reitz. Pictured left: Nancy Selvin, Trophy: Jay (deFeo), 2017. Terracotta underglaze, screened underglaze, drywall screws. 32 x 28 inches. Pictured right: Don Reitz, untitled, 1991.
MIND+MATTER & Don Reitz: Panel Discussions and Reception
Saturday, September 11, 2021 • 3–5 PM (Pacific)
Join us for an double feature for MIND+MATTER & Don Reitz with Executive Director Beth Ann Gerstein! We’re thrilled to host a remarkable group of speakers, all of which are traveling to AMOCA make this special event possible.
At 3 PM, enjoy a 30-minute panel of speakers with special insight into the life and work of Don Reitz:
- Brent and Donna Reitz, son and daughter of the late artist
- Paula Rice, wife of the late artist
- Peter Held, Trustee, Reitz Family Trust
At 4 PM, switch galleries for a panel with artists featured in MIND+MATTER: Five Bay Area Artists:
- Robert Brady
- Arthur Gonzalez
- Beverly Mayeri
- Nancy Selvin
Each panel will be followed with light refreshments and opportunities to meet and mingle.
Event RSVP
This in-person event is free and open to the public, and admission to the museum is free with registration.
For those interested in viewing a recording of the event, register for a “recording only” ticket and you’ll receive a link after the event.
RSVP using the form below (it may take a moment to load). If you prefer, you may also RSVP directly to Paul Roach at communications@amoca.org.
MIND+MATTER: Five Bay Area Sculptors will feature the work of a notable group of Bay Area artists who have been working in the ceramics field for 30+ years – Robert Brady, Arthur Gonzalez, Beverly Mayeri, Nancy Selvin, and Richard Shaw. This exhibition will showcase work that explores responses to life experiences, contemporary issues, personal narratives, psychological underpinnings, and reflections of popular culture.
This exhibition is funded in part by The Boardman Family Foundation and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture.
Don Reitz: Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal presents work by Don Reitz, an artist broadly recognized as one of the most influential American ceramic artists of the last century. Known by many in the ceramics community as “Mr. Salt” for his role in almost single-handedly reviving the salt-fire tradition in American studio ceramics, the New York Times recognized Reitz as “one of a small cadre of midcentury artisans who expanded the medium to include immense, intellectually provocative works of abstract art” (New York Times, March 30, 2014). This exhibition will add to the significant body of scholarship on Reitz’s work with new research on the well-known but largely unstudied “Sara Series” (1983-91). This exhibition will feature, together for the first time, over 40 works from this series.
The catalyst for this body of work is no less dramatic than the work itself. “In 1982 Reitz nearly lost the use of his left arm and leg in a serious truck accident. Laid up for months and in constant pain,” he sank into a deep depression (Don Reitz: Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood, Clowes). It is during this period of despair that Reitz’ father passed away and his niece, Sara Gula, was diagnosed with cancer. A regular exchange of letters and drawings between Reitz and his niece saw them through the worst of their convalescence.
This exhibition is funded in part by Pasadena Art Alliance and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture.