b. 1921 d. 2011
Site Affiliation: Soldner Center for the Arts and Innovation
Paul Soldner is acknowledged for his many innovations and contributions to ceramic art and art history. In 1956 while studying with Peter Voulkos at Otis Art Institute, Soldner was the first to explore monumental sculptural ideas in clay at his groundbreaking MFA exhibition of 25 distinctive 5 to 8-foot “floor pots”. During the 1960s while teaching at Scripps College and Claremont Graduate University, he innovated a revolutionary new ceramic technique, American Raku, and founded Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado.
He held 7 US patents to manufacture Soldner Clay Mixers and Soldner Electric Potters Wheels. In the 1980s he developed another firing technique, Low Temperature Salt Fuming. He continued to create, exhibit and sell his artwork until his death in 2011. Soldner conducted hundreds of workshops around the world captivating his audiences with his mastery and joy of teaching. His artwork is in many major national and international museums.
Primary Medium: Ceramics, Painting
Primary Stylistic Term: Organic, Experimental, Abstract, Representational, 20th-century Modern
HAHS Affiliations: Paul was married to fellow artist Ginny Soldner. Sam and Alfreda Maloof were friends and colleagues living close to Paul and Ginny in Southern California during winters when Paul taught at Scripps College. They socialized from time to time and enjoyed each others creativity and life style. Paul brought Sam to Anderson Ranch Art Center, which Paul had founded in 1966 to teach woodworking. Sam taught there for many summers until a few years before his death. The wood shop building is named in Sam’s honor. The Soldner Center dining room table was made by Sam Maloof which Paul and Ginny acquired when the artists traded artwork. The Maloof Foundation has Paul’s ceramics in it’s collection.
Fun Fact: Paul while teaching a workshop often asked to see the bottom of participants’ shoes to see if they had interesting textures he might use on the piece he was creating.
Recommended Publications: Nothing to Hide: Exposures, Disclosures and Reflection by Paul Soldner; Paul Soldner: A Retrospective (University of Washington Press, 1991)