Before moving west in 1964 to teach at the University of Washington in Seattle, Kottler created traditional ceramic work. Exposure to California funk—a new movement that rejected established art theories—gave Kottler license to go wild and use his art to satirize American popular culture. In his subsequent work, Kottler applied glazes and decals to ready-made ceramic objects, rarely modeling and casting his clay.
Credit: Smithsonian American Art Museum