Eclectic and Eccentric Ceramics: An Exhibition by Robert Snyder

I started life as a painter. I was mentored by Ilya Bolotowsky and Ibram Lassaw. I worked with notables such as Willem DeKoonig, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Alphonso Ossorio and Larry Rivers. I worked as curator at The Parrish Museum in Southampton, The Guild Hall Museum in Easthampton, The Metropolitan Museum / Queens Museum and lectured at the Cloisters. And worked closely with Victor D’Amico on the “Barge” for the Museum of Modern Art.

I started making pottery when taking my Master’s degree in painting at Pratt Institute. Little did I know that pottery would turn out to be my passion. My work was a feature story on the Fine Living Channel’s program Back to Basics.

It’s hard to make a living as an artist so I became an advertising Executive Creative Director/Art Director and film director. I ran several agencies, served on their Board of Directors, owned my own agency and managed healthy profits for my clients. My strength is seeing the big picture, growing organizations, and optimizing profitability, with an emphasis on quality.

I work primarily in porcelain. I was strictly a wheel throwing potter. The pandemic opened me to avenues I hadn’t explored. Now hand-building is part of my wheel thrown pieces. I take real world objects as inspiration and create them in my vision. Cultural insights and 30 years as an advertising Creative Director create new paths to explore.

I believe pottery is the bond between the earth, art, and utility and serves as our emotional connection to our environment. The surface decoration is a blank canvas to capture an idea, convey a feeling, add a tactile element, accentuate a prominent pattern or shape.

I was an adjunct professor at The Art Institute of Phoenix, CMO at Arizona Clay Association and board member of the American Advertising Federation.