Wayne Higby

D. Wayne Higby (born 12 May 1943 in Colorado, USA) is an American artist working in ceramics. The American Craft Museum considers him a "visionary of the American Crafts Movement" and recognized him as one of seven artists who are "genuine living legends representing the best of American artists in their chosen medium."

Biography Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Higby received a B.F.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, in 1966, and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1968. Since 1973, he has been on the faculty of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY.

Working both as a ceramic artist and an educator, Higby has earned international recognition since his one-person show at the American Craft Museum in 1973. His work focuses on "landscape imagery as a focal point of meditation", and ranges from the vessel form to tile and sculptural works. Rather than focusing on its functional aspects, Higby uses the vessel form as a vehicle for imagery, often inspired by the western landscapes of his childhood, that highlights the interplay between light, space, and time.

"I strive to establish a zone of quiet coherence – a place full of silent, empty space where finite and infinite, intimate and immense intersect."

He is known for his inventive use of Raku earthenware, and an interest in porcelain following his experiences travelling and lecturing in China, where he has worked with artists to revitalize Chinese Ceramic art. He is Honorary President and co-founder(with Jackson Li) of the Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute at Jingdezhen, and an Honorary Professor of Art at both the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute and at Shanghai University, People’s Republic of China.

He is also vice president of the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ceramic artist Victoria MacKenzie-Childs, taught by Higby at Alfred University in the 1970s, credits Higby as a lifelong mentor.

Academic appointments New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, 1973–present Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, 1970–73 University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1968–1970

Awards Distinguished Educator Award, James Renwick Alliance, 2002 Honorary Professor of Art, College of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, 2000 Recognition of Excellence, American Ceramic Society, 1998 American Craft Movement Visionary Award, American Craft Museum, 1995 College of Fellows, American Craft Council, 1995 Honorary Professor of Ceramic Art, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, P.R. of China, 1995 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York, 1993 Master Teacher Award, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT, 1990 George A. and Eliza Howard Foundation Fellowship, 1986 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, 1985, 1989 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 1973, 1977, 1988

Solo exhibitions Wayne Higby: Landscape as Memory, 1990–1999, Museum of Art & Design, Helsinki, Finland, 1999 Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 1991, 1997 Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, CT, 1990 Helen Drutt Gallery, New York, NY, 1988, 1990 Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY, 1984 Okun-Thomas Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 1979 Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1996 Exhibit A, Gallery of American Ceramics, Evanston, IL, 1975, 1978, 1980 Museum of Contemporary Crafts (American Craft Museum), New York, NY, 1973 Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, Long Island, NY, 1971 Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT, 1970 Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE, 1969

Work in public collections American Craft Museum (now The Museum of Arts & Design), New York City, NY, USA Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, USA Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, USA Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Jingdezhen Museum of Art, P.R. China Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN, USA Museum for Contemporary art Het Kruithuis, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX, USA National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred, NY, USA Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK