Anna Silver California Ceramic Art

Anna Silver at AMOCA: Celebrating a Life in Clay and Color

Silver Splendor: Reimagining Painting on Ceramic Vessel

Recognition in the art world is often mysterious—sometimes delayed, sometimes uneven. With Anna Silver, my longtime friend, confidante, and artistic compass, it arrived later than it should have. But when it came, it arrived in style.

At 90, Anna celebrated her first solo exhibition at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in Pomona, California. The show was vibrant. The space buzzed with energy. And we were there to celebrate a woman who has created over 2,500 ceramic works in her lifetime—each one a bold act of creative defiance.

Anna began as a painter. She studied in Paris with Fernand Léger in the 1950s and later at Otis Art Institute, where a circle of ceramic rebels—Peter Voulkos, Michael Frimkess, Billy Al Bengston, and Paul Soldner—drew her into clay. And that’s where she stayed, using ceramic vessels not as functional objects but as living, turning canvases.

One of the defining qualities of Anna Silver’s work is her transformation of the ceramic vase into a vibrant, three-dimensional canvas. She doesn’t just decorate objects—she paints them with intention, layering intricate patterns using techniques like brushwork, sgraffito, and underglaze. Each vessel becomes a fusion of utility and emotion, animated by movement, energy, and story.

Her style leans boldly abstract, full of color and rhythm, untethered from traditional ceramic genres. These aren’t quiet objects. They speak. They pulse. They reject convention and invite the eye to move around the entire form—not just settle on a focal point. The composition lives in the round.

Beyond her vessels, Anna explores the sculptural potential of clay. These forms—organic, unexpected—blur the line between functional object and expressive sculpture. They carry the same vitality as her vases, while pushing even further into what ceramic art can dare to be.

As a person, Anna is sharp, curious, and deeply generous. Over the years, she’s offered me wisdom, humor, and an unwavering eye. Her presence in my life is a gift, and seeing her finally celebrated at AMOCA felt right—if long overdue.

Like Anna, I see art as both language and lifeline. I reflect on this in my own work, which you can explore here: 👉 Art, Expression & Visual Narratives.

I can’t help but wonder: would a male artist of her caliber have waited this long for this kind of spotlight?

AMOCA: A Living History of Ceramic Art in Southern California

Tucked away in Pomona, California, the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) is a vibrant home for the evolving story of clay. Founded in 2001 by ceramic artist and collector David Armstrong, AMOCA opened to the public in 2003 with a simple yet ambitious mission: to showcase the richness and diversity of ceramic art and design.

👉 Read more about AMOCA’s history and mission here.

Southern California’s relationship with ceramics runs deep. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, companies like Malibu Potteries and Catalina Pottery turned the region into a creative hub, producing tiles, tableware, and decorative wares that reflected a unique blend of tradition and innovation. These studios employed skilled artisans who quietly laid the foundation for what would become a robust ceramic culture.

By the 1950s and ’60s, ceramic artists in the region were reshaping the medium altogether. Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, and John Mason weren’t just making pots—they were pushing boundaries, treating clay as a vehicle for sculptural expression and abstract form. Their work blurred the line between craft and fine art, inviting a new generation to experiment without rules.

The momentum didn’t slow in the following decades. Artists like Ken Price, Ron Nagle, and Adrian Saxe expanded the field even further, challenging visual expectations and traditional definitions of the medium. Their playful, conceptual, and intensely personal work placed ceramics firmly within the contemporary art conversation.

Against this backdrop of innovation, AMOCA emerged not just as a museum but as a living archive. Its permanent collection now holds thousands of works, from ancient pottery to cutting-edge sculpture. More than a place to display objects, it serves as a gathering space for artists, collectors, and visitors who see ceramics not as a relic of the past, but as a language still being shaped.

March 2019