Loren Lukens Pottery at Smith Galleries

Loren Lukens applies surface decoration.

The functional porcelain pottery of Loren Lukens has been a part of Smith Galleries for nearly as long as we have been Smith Galleries. That says a lot about the quality of his work. After all, Wally began his career in the arts as a potter; and because of his expertise in the craft, few potters have met his exacting standards. Loren's love affair with clay began just a few years after Wally's, and I think they share many of the same ideas about their craft. There is something so satisfying about taking a lump of clay and centering it, forming it with your hands into the object of your mind's eye, and then finishing it into a vessel with both beauty and function. In speaking about his work, Loren says, "The beginnings of pottery go hand in hand with the beginnings of humankind. Of contemporary crafts, only basket making is as fundamental. The shapes of pottery are the shapes of the human body, and are named as such: lip, foot, and shoulder. They are shapes we know very well on a level beneath our consciousness."

Porcelain Bowl

Like most potters who have mastered their craft, (Wally has always said that you have to make 10,000 pots before you make a good one), Loren has out maneuvered the potters wheel and figured out how to make pieces that though they began by being round,  their finished form is no longer dictated by the wheel. "My forms are extensions of traditional pottery with contemporary variations," he says. "They're strong, sleek and sculptural with a bold painterly surface and rich glaze treatment.  The pieces have a dynamic impact when viewed from a distance as well as an intensity of detail up close." Over the span of his career, painting, or the design aspect of the pottery, has become an increasingly important aspect of Loren's work

Porcelain Platter

Loren' studio workshop is complete, with potters wheels, clay extruders,  a glaze spray booth, a slab roller, a slip mixer,  a pug mill, a casting table, and both electric and gas fired kilns in 3000 square feet of both indoor and outdoor space. It is here that he makes his wheel thrown, hand built, and slip cast porcelain pottery. Loren's work has evolved over the years, his skill has increased with experience, his vision has expanded and developed; but he has remained true to the fundamentals that first guided him to make an outstanding product. We are pleased to be included in the list of prestigious American craft galleries. that carry Loren Lukens pottery.  

Smith Galleries is located in suite J11 (second level) of the Village at Wexford at 1000 William Hilton Parkway on Hilton Head Island, SC. Gallery hours are 10 - 6 Monday through Saturday. 800.272.3870