I first became familiar with Architectural Pottery during a home tour of the architecturally significant midcentury modern home of Chris Menrad in Palm Springs around 2009. The home’s interior alone was something to behold, as it was a highly curated collection of midcentury modern furniture and decorative art.
Impressed as I was by Chris’s keen eye for design, I was more intrigued by the dozens of ceramic planters that housed the most fantastic array of desert foliage, which marked the entire backyard of the house. Nearest to the pool stood a planter I soon would recognize as one of Architectural Pottery’s most iconic shapes — the angular Hourglass designed by LaGardo Tackett. The shape featured what seemed like a random hole cut out at its base. A similar angular form appeared almost hovering above a patch of grass beneath it. The vessel was attached to a steel pole. At that moment, upon seeing it, I understood that this and the geometric shapes of the other planters were radically different from the decorative, Spanish-influenced terra-cotta planters I grew up seeing in many San Fernando Valley backyards, including my own.
Architectural Pottery sold a catalog of semi-mass-produced pieces created by a cast of budding designers. Some embraced minimalism while others toyed with surface texture. Above: Paul McCobb M-3 planter.
The planters in Chris’ backyard were devoid of any decoration. Each one, each shape, possessed its own personality — its own singular style. Some were colored in a glossy white glaze; others were mostly done in a raw ceramic bisque. Another planter was in the shape of an infant’s bathtub — called the Pig, designed by John Follis and Rex Goode — and rested on a three-legged iron stand. Various species of cacti grew out of this planter, and the cacti appeared incongruous to the planter at first glance. But the more I gazed intently at the planter, it eventually made sense to me that the planters were in fact harmonious — a wonderful contrast in textures and colors.
Chris said that he had been collecting Architectural Pottery for nearly 10 years and that he had done extensive research on the subject in hopes of a book being published. There were more pieces of Architectural Pottery inside. Like the planters outside, the planters inside looked equally comfortable, which supported the midcentury modern ethos of indoor-outdoor living. I left that day truly impressed by what I had seen and decided to investigate the subject for myself. I soon learned more about the incredible origin story of the company Architectural Pottery.
In 2012, I was working on a book on the work of master craftspeople Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman. Over several years devoted to the book, I had spent many an afternoon at the Ackermans’ home. There, I got to photograph their collection of decorative art, which Jerry and Evelyn had collected over many years. And over many years of their art making, the two met many other artisans and craftspeople, including not only the founders of Architectural Pottery, Max and Rita Lawrence, but Architectural Pottery designers John Follis and Malcolm Leland. In fact, the Ackermans possessed their own modest collection of Architectural Pottery. It seems these groundbreaking planters were somehow following me on my journey to expose the work of midcentury modern icons.
“We wanted to produce the classics of the future … to provide something that no one else was providing and to be true in design.”
Rita Lawrence, Architectural Pottery co-founder
Bowls by John Follis and Rex Goode.
David Cressey planters.
As an author, I gravitate toward exposing otherwise unseen or untold stories that I feel are so essentially integral to the fabric of the midcentury modern design. From Hand-in-Hand, the work of Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman, and a photographic survey of unseen midcentury modern homes throughout Palm Springs and beyond, to a survey of midcentury modern design on the iconic TV series Star Trek, to this, the first book chronicling the story of the company Architectural Pottery, I view each publication project as an important section of a large and colorfully woven tapestry.
It is my hope that the reader of this book will come to understand and appreciate the very rich and finely detailed story of Architectural Pottery. It is the story of a union between two visionary businesspeople and the highly talented artisans who defined and shaped their vision throughout the company’s history.
Released in September, Architectural Pottery: Ceramics for a Modern Landscape by Dan Chavkin, Jeffrey Head, and Jo Lauria was published by Phaidon imprint Monacelli and produced with support from the Palm Springs Modern Committee. The book serves as a companion piece to an exhibition of the same name at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona. Curated by Lauria and designed by Gary Wexler, the exhibition features 120 pieces of Architectural Pottery.
