FUNCTIONAL. AESTHETIC. PORCELAIN. POTTERY

ART FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

Discover the work of Loren Lukens, a Merced, CA-based potter whose sculptural porcelain pieces extend traditional forms with bold, painterly glaze surfaces.

Handmade porcelain vessel with handles in turquoise and black-and-white design

Handmade porcelain bowl with black-and-white design

Handmade porcelain vessel with colorful, whimsical design

Handmade porcelain pitcher with handle in black with black-and-white graphic design

About Loren Lukens

Loren Lukens fell in love with clay in the early 1970s as an art student at a small Midwest liberal arts college, where counterculture influences and his farm-boy roots made pottery a natural fit for his craft. His work pushes traditional pottery into bold, sculptural territory, with painterly surfaces and rich glazes that read from across a room and reward a closer look.

"My best pots solve the challenge of painting in three dimensions while maintaining the integrity of the form."

At Sage Court Studio in Merced, California, Loren creates porcelain pieces through wheel-throwing, hand-building, and slip casting. Painting drives his process—after bisque firing, he builds layers of glaze and gestural marks to create landscape-like depth, then fires to cone 6 with electricity from solar panels.

He shares his life and creative outlook with his wife Beth Kirchhoff, a conductor and pianist; the two often see parallels between their crafts, both rooted in respect for traditional form.