Ken Ferguson: Kansas City Ceramics

Ken Ferguson is a famous Kansas City ceramicist. He was born in 1938 in Illinois. Ferguson's pieces often resemble ancient artwork and themes. Most of the pieces are high fire works or salt fired. His current studio is in Shawnee. Under his influence, the Kansas City Art Institute became on of the best in the country. He was named one of the twelve greatest living potters in the world. His connection to Kansas City is a obvious one; if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have the ceramics department we have at KCAI.

Ken's work is similar to Pablo Picasso's. They both did a number of works that used large dark brush strokes to outline the shape of what they were trying to paint. Ken's work often consisted of clean lines on his platters and abstract formations of ancient ideas. His pieces are modern, but at the same time they look as if they just got dug up from an ancient dig site. Ken's teapots are abstract, often sitting on three tall legs. Most of his platters are salt fired, giving them an off white color, on these platters, he paints classical scenes or ancient themed works, but puts his twist to them by painting the images with a pointy brush using a dark color he creates smooth strokes to form his ideas. Picasso worked frequently with paints and inks on a canvas. Ferguson works primarily with ceramics.

Ken Ferguson is great ceramist whose works are greatly recognized throughout the world and have a special quality that only he could reproduce. If it were not for Ken Ferguson having a say in what goes on in the Kemper Museum of art and the KCAI, they would not be what they are today.