Press Release
Clay mural by Bauhaus-trained Master Potter rediscovered
Artist’s ceramic wall piece links Lock Haven University, Rochester Institute of Technology
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – A connection forged more than three decades ago between Lock Haven
University (LHU) and a ceramics instructor 200 miles away at Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT) was nearly lost to the passing of time.
Renowned Bauhaus-trained ceramist Frans Wildenhain (1905-1980) created one of his last
ceramic murals at LHU in the late 1970s. The previously undocumented mural—eight feet
square and depicting Lock Haven’s topography—anonymously greets visitors to the university’s
Sloan Fine Arts Center.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between LHU and RIT, that important connection has been
rediscovered and a decades-old tie rekindled. The hunt for the mural was launched by Dr. Bruce
Austin, who is the organizer of an exhibition of mid-century ceramics by Wildenhain.
“I read a couple of cryptic notes about a Lock Haven mural in Frans’s mid-70s sketchbooks,”
Austin says. “But they didn’t reveal much beyond noting the city.”
Austin’s interview with one of Wildenhain’s colleagues yielded a bit more clarity, suggesting
LHU as the location of the mural. Telephone calls, e-mails, and several on-campus searches by
LHU finally located the mural.
“I was thrilled to find the Frans Wildenhain ceramic mural that Dr. Austin was searching for at Lock
Haven University,” says Bernadette Heiney, LHU Digital Initiatives, Archives, & Media Technician.
“The discovery of this bold art piece has created a special connection between our two schools.”
The documented list of Wildenhain’s murals is now joined by the one at Lock Haven University.
Wildenhain created several ceramic murals throughout his career, including works at the
National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD, and Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ.
In 1958, Wildenhain received a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship to study ceramic walls and
architecture. He also garnered international attention for his mid-century creative pottery.
The pursuit of the LHU mural’s history coincides with a revival of interest and inquiry into
Wildenhain’s work. At RIT, from Aug. 20 – Oct. 2, 2012, more than 150 of Wildenhain’s ceramics
are on view in the exhibition, Frans Wildenhain 1950-75: Creative and Commercial American
Ceramics at Mid-century. The event will be held in both the Dyer Arts Center and Bevier Gallery.
The Wildenhain exhibit is free and open to the public. An exhibition catalogue is available.
Contact: Bruce Austin
phone: 585-475-2879
email: [email protected]
www.rit.edu/wild
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Rochester Institute of Technology
College of Liberal Arts
92 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623