Warren MacKenzie
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Warren MacKenzie (February 16, 1924 – December 31, 2018) was an American craft
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...
. He grew up in
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...
the second oldest of five children. His high school days were spent at
New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...
in Winnetka, Illinois.


Biography

MacKenzie and his first wife, Alix, studied with
Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979) was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (n ...
from 1949 to 1952. His simple,
wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...
-thrown functional pottery is heavily influenced by the aesthetic of
Shoji Hamada A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque '' fusuma'' is used (/close ...
and Korean ceramics. He is credited with bringing the Japanese
Mingei The concept of , variously translated into English as " folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, includin ...
style of pottery to Minnesota, fondly referred to as the "Mingei-sota style." MacKenzie described his goal as the making of "everyday" pots. Accordingly, although his pots are found in major museums and command high prices among collectors, MacKenzie has always kept his prices low. For various time periods he did not sign his work (1970s, most of the 2000s) until he resumed the use of his chop at the end of 2009. Most of his output was produced in stoneware, although he occasionally worked in porcelain. MacKenzie was well known as a teacher. Since 1953 he had taught at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, where he was a Regents' professor emeritus. His students included
Mark Pharis Mark Pharis is an American ceramic artist and professor. He is the Chair of the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota, where he has been a faculty member since 1985. As of 2022, he was named a Fellow of the American Craft Council. Biog ...
. Warren MacKenzie's second wife of 30 years, Nancy MacKenzie, died in October 2014, at the age of 80. Nancy was a textile artist who used found objects from nature and recycle bins. Warren continued to live in the home they shared outside
Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), S ...
, where he maintained his studio until his death. Until December 2006, MacKenzie also housed a showroom on his property. The showroom operated on the "honor system" whereby pots were marked with price stickers and visitors would pay for pots by placing their money in a wicker basket, taking change for themselves as appropriate. Due to theft and customers selling his work for profit online, MacKenzie closed his showroom, opting instead to sell his pots through the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Trax Gallery in California, Lacoste Gallery in Massachusetts, and the Schaller Gallery in Michigan, as well as exhibitions around the country. The Schaller Gallery still houses a large portion of Warren's works that can be viewed and sold upon request. On December 31, 2018, MacKenzie died aged 94.Kerr, Euan
"To Warren Mackenzie, the best pot was one people used"
''MPR News'',
Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, KNOW-FM, News & Information, KSJN, YourClassical MPR and KCMP, The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper ...
. May 13, 2019.


References


External links

* DeSmith, Christy and Hanus, Julie K.,
The Open Door: Warren MacKenzie has influenced generations of potters through the simple act of welcoming them into his home
, '' American Craft Magazine''. November 17, 2014. * Lewis, Gary, ''Warren MacKenzie: American Potter''. Unicom 2006.
Warren MacKenzie Oral History Interview
via
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Warren 1924 births 2018 deaths American potters People from Stillwater, Minnesota University of Minnesota faculty People from Wilmette, Illinois Ceramists from Minnesota Ceramists from Illinois 20th-century American ceramists 20th-century American artists 21st-century American ceramists 21st-century American artists American male artists 20th-century American male artists