Cris Worley Fine Arts is proud to present Vessels, Elements and Drawings, an exhibition co-organized by Rusty Scruby and Hampton Burwick honoring beloved artist and friend, James Watral (1942 – 2014). This commemorative exhibition, featuring ceramic works and drawings from the artist’s estate, will open on November 23rd with a reception from 5:30 – 8:30pm and will be on view through December 28th. 

James Watral is most known for his formalistic explorations into ceramic sculpture. His oeuvre includes myriad techniques from slab, throwing, extruded forms and hand-building, to surfaces treated with glaze, terra sigillata, copper leaf and mixed media. Even his drawings, of vessel-like forms or overlapping abstract shapes, seem to emit a frenetic energy that mimics the movements associated with the spinning of clay. 

Watral’s inspirations were just as eclectic: Egyptian and Etruscan art influenced his forms while intermingling with his own Croatian heritage. In Watral’s Hero Series, imagery of metal belt buckles worn by Croatian soldiers memorialize friends that the artist tragically lost to the AIDS epidemic. Other inspirations included science and the expanding universe, music, gardening, theater and architecture to name a few.

Rusty Scruby of the Watral estate reflects on the memory of his longtime friend:

“As a young aspiring artist, I was amazed when I first walked into James’ studio. It was filled with decades of his creativity and inspirations. He also lived in his studio, so interspersed with his incredible vessels and drawings were his antiques and collections. Visiting James often meant having a glass of champagne and looking at new glaze tests or experiments with new forms. His cats would interrupt us by stepping into one of his vessels and then James would hear something in the music (usually opera) that he would have to explain. Although technically James was never my teacher, he was always teaching, and I was always learning when I was around him.’