This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  "Don Reitz: Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood"
by Jody Clowes
Fearless improvisation and revival in American studio ceramics.
Don Reitz is recognized as one of the most important and influential
ceramic artists of this century. Trained at Alfred University in
the early 1960s, Reitz has pursued a life-long investigation of salt
and wood firing of his ceramic pieces in order to preserve the energy
and freshness of his artistic marks and gestures. Finding that
the texture and unpredictability of salt-firing suited his work, Reitz
almost single-handedly revived this neglected technique, and through
long experimentation developed a range of colors and surface effects
previously unknown in salt-firing.
Juggling and manipulating the variables in each firing, Reitz is a
virtuoso who relishes knowing what he can control and what he
cannot. His work maintains a fine balance between technical
mastery and improvisation. The Elvehjem Museum of Art (Now Chazen
Museum of Art) retrospective features some seventy-four ceramic works
that Reitz created between 1960 and the present.
Don Reitz taught in the University of Wisconsin–Madison art department
from 1962 to 1988. In 2002 he received one of the highest honors
in his field when the American Craft Council awarded him their Gold
Medal. Jody Clowes is an independent art scholar and exhibition
curator.
This title was distributed for the Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Source: http://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/3931.htm
RESUME
DONALD REITZ
BORN: 1929 Sunbury, Pennsylvania
EDUCATION:
1962 MFA, New York State School of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
1957 BS, Art Education, Kutztown State College, Kutztown, Pennsylvania
POSITIONS:
1990- Professional Artist, Clarkdale, Arizona
1962-88 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
1962-62 Alfred University, Alfred, New York
1957-60 Dover Public Schools, Dover, New Jersey
HONORS & AWARDS:
Named Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Named Fellow, Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters
Honored in Ceramic Monthly Reader’s Roll as “One of twelve greatest living ceramic artists worldwide” 1988 and 2001
Cited by the Maori people of New Zealand and carved on their totem pole
for “Distinguished leadership in the dispensing of knowledge to peoples”
Honored as Trustee Emeritus of the American Craft Council
Named Fellow of the World Craft Council
Past President and Fellow of the National Council on Education of Ceramic Arts
Recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Grant
Honorary Resident and given the key to the City of Henderson, Kentucky
Recipient of the Governor’s Award in the Arts, State of Wisconsin and State of Pennsylvania
Recipient of the Governor’s Award , Himeji City, Japan
Recipient of the first Ceramic Art Award by The American Ceramic Society
Honored Guest of the Vice President of The United States in Washington, D.C.
Recipient of the Aileen Osborn Webb Gold Medal, American Crafts Council’s Highest Award
Recipient of the James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Educator Award
Recipient of the Peter Voulkos Visiting Artist Fellowship Award
Recipient State of Wisconsin Lifetime Achievement Award
Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award – International Ceramic Festival at Aberystwyth, Whales UK
Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award- Watershed Center for the Ceramics Arts, Maine
ARTIST-IN- RESIDENCE:
Himeji City, Japan
Palmerston University, Palmerston North New Zealand
Clay As Art, Rotoruro, New Zealand
Tommerup Brickworks, Odense, Denmark
Banff Center For The Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Auckland Potters Guild, Auckland, New Zealand
Artist League, Perth, Australia
Canadian Arts Council, Calgary, Canada
Sydney College, Sydney, Australia
Yeoju, Korea
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Canadian Potters Guild, Toronto, Canada
Sheridan School of Design, Port Credit, Ontario Canada
Anderson Ranch Art Center, Aspen, Colorado
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Greenwich House, New York, New York
University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona
University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
Mills College, Oakland, California
University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska
Penland School of Arts and Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
Peters Valley Craft School, Layton, New Jersey
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
92nd Street Y.M.C.A., New York, New York
Parsons School of Design, Lake Placid, New York
Archie Bray Foundation Voulkos Residency
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Arkansas Arts Center, Littlerock, Arkansas
Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
Elvehjem Museum of Art, Madison, Wisconsin
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
Mudgee Art Museum, Mudgee, Australia
New York State University, Alfred, New York
Nippon Castle Research Center, Himeji, Japan
Palmerston University, Palmerston North New Zealand
Renwick Gallery, Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Smithsonian Institution, Building of Science and Industry, Washington, D.C.
Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota
Weismann Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Kutztown State University, Kutztown, PA
Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Erishu Art Museum, Himeji, Japan
Horikodden Art Center, Oslo, Norway
Brandt’s Kloedefabrik, Odenese, Denmark
Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah
Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio
Gilmore Art Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, MO
De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
Houston Museum of Art, Houston, TX
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati OH
Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art, Scottsdale, AZ
Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
The Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS:
International Sculpture Exhibition, Erishu Art Gallery, Himeji, City, Japan
International Pottery Exhibition, Korno Arty Gallery, Himehi City, Japan
Exhibition, Culturele Raad Gemeentehuis, Roden, Holland
“Art, Design, and Research”, Posio, Findland
International Exhibition, Gallery van Alst, Tilburg, Netherlands
Clay as Art, International Exhibition, Auchland, New Zealand
International Exhibition of Ceramics, Hovikodden Art Center, Oslo, Norway
International Exhibition, Brandt’s Kloedefabrik, Odense,Denmark
Oslo International Ceramics Symposium, Oslo, Norway
International Ceramic Exhibition, Yeoju, Korea
“30 Year of Reitz Clay”, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Manchester Art Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Phoenix Rising, Seattle, Washington
Ceramic National 2000, Everson Museum of Arts, Syracuse, New York
Udinotti Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, Kansas
Maurine Littleton Gallery, Washington, D.C.
“American Woodfire”, Traveling Exhibition, National Invitational
Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington
Navy Pier Show, Chicago, Illinois
Signature Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
St. Petersburg Art Center, St. Petersburg, Florida
Roswell Visual Art Center, Roswell, Georgia
“Contemporary Clay: Master Teachers/Master Students”
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
International Woodfire Exhibition, Museum of Art, Iowa City, Iowa
Artables Gallery, Houston, Texas
Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee
North Harris Community College, Houston, Texas
Indigo Fine Art Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida
“Beyond Serving” Invitational, Moira James Gallery, Greenville, Nevada
Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah
“Hands on the Goddess” Armstrong’s Gallery, Pomona, California
“Centered in Clay” Potters Council, The St. Petersburg Clay Company, St. Petersburg, Florida
WALL COMMISSIONS:
Ceramic Mural, 10’ x 15’, Performing Arts Center, Chandler, Arizona
Ceramic Wall, 10’ x 40’, Nippon Castle Research Center, Hemji City, Japan
Two Wall Sculptures, 10’x36’, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wall Sculpture, 14’x20’, Waunakee Elementary School, Waunakee, Wisconsin
SOURCE: http://www.donreitz.com/new%20site/collections.htm
Submitted by M.D. Silverbrooke, West Vancouver, Canada
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