Online Feature with Larry Buller
"While encountering my ceramic art, one may initially be attracted to the highly ornamental quality they exhibit. I relish using surface treatments that employ showy floral decals, gold luster, fake diamonds, foil paper, fur and glitter. As a “moth to a flame” I seek to lure viewers in for a closer look where an admittedly transgressive intention is revealed. My work is conceptualized around gay sexuality, masculinity and fetish objects. I delight in taking this content “out of the closet” to be celebrated for it’s beauty, exquisite form and implied function. I desire to demystify sex between men and encourage dialogue around topics typically not discussed in “polite” society. Clay, with its domestic connotation and rich historical language is the ideal medium for this purpose. It allows for unlimited freedom to find inspiration in high-brow pieces viewed in museum collections and low-brow, kitschy ceramics one might encounter at flea markets. My art is often a hybrid between both; historically inspired work executed in a kitschy and often humorous manner."
"I use low-fire slip cast and press mold techniques to create figurines, plates and other hand-built components that are often assembled into centerpieces, installations or garniture sets. I delight in blurring the line between functional and non-functional ceramics; salt and pepper sets that masquerade as sculpture. I also create objects that have dual meanings: peach and eggplant compotes which function as centerpieces and also signify sexual preferences as a “top” or “bottom.” My sexually charged, diminutive work is “china cabinet ready” and intended to proudly take its place among cherished collectables. By creating objects specifically for the home, I seek to question what is considered “good taste” in the domestic environment."
"I strive to resonate with viewers personal experiences while challenging previously held beliefs regarding the nature of gay sex, fetish, masculinity and stereotypes regarding sexual minorities. "
-- Larry Buller
Larry earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and a Master of Arts degree in Educational Phycology, both from the University of Nebraska. He currently maintains a ceramic studio practice in Lincoln and is a part-time adjunct lecturer with the UNL art department. For many years Larry was an educator with the Lincoln Public schools teaching primarily pottery at the high school level.
In 2020, Larry’s ceramic work was exhibited at part of the NCECA national show entitled “The Burdens of History.” As a graduate student his work was included in the 2016 NCECA student exhibition. In 2019, Larry’s work was included as part of the Society of Arts and Crafts Museum exhibition entitle “PRIED” in Boston, Mass. This national show curated together contemporize work by artists who identify as Queer.
Larry was an artist in residence at the Anderson Ranch Art Center in the winter of 2019. Recently he was awarded an artist residency at the “Zentrum fur Kuramic” (Center for Ceramics) in Berlin, Germany and at Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, Montana.