Civic Center – Hiro II

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This piece is actually owned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, it was acquired in 1971.

Peter Voulkos was born January 29, 1924, in Bozeman, Montana to Greek-born parents, Efrosine and Harry Voulkos, and died February 16, 2002 in Bowling Green, Ohio.  He first studied painting and ceramics at Montana State University (then Montana State College) in Bozeman, then earned an MFA degree from the California College of the Arts. He began his career producing functional dinnerware. He is most known for his ceramic work. Voulkos’ sculptures are famous for their visual weight, their freely-formed construction, and their aggressive and energetic decoration. He would vigorously tear, pound, and gouge the surfaces of his pieces. At some points in his career, he cast his sculptures in bronze; in other periods his ceramic works were glazed or painted, and he finished them with painted brushstrokes.

Here is Peter Voulkos’ obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle.