100:. Writer Monica Quock Chan, in an article on the Oakland Museum, described âPlanetâ as follows: âIn the entrance lobby sits a circular, benchlike sculpture 13 feet in diameter. Back in 1969, woodworker J.B. Blunk carved "The Planet" out of a single redwood burl, and it has been an icon of the museum for years.â Blunk created the sculpture from a two-ton piece of redwood with the help of then-apprentice Bruce Mitchell.
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part of a âvertical redwood monolithâ and âan assortment of small, rounded tables and stools.â The entire work was cut âfrom a single 22-foot diameter stump of redwood.â Like Blunk's âother major installations,â Adamson said, ââMagic Boatâ and âGreensâ encourage a feeling of community through their circular compositions and inviting shapes.â
156:âI like to think that the courage and independence J.B. has shown is typically California, or at least Western, with a continent between to be free from categories that are called art. Here the links seem to me more to the open sky and spaces, and the far reaches of time from where come the burled stumps of those great trees.â
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article, Glenn
Adamson described âMagic Boatâ as a âcradle-like nine-foot square sitting area with a rhythmic series of round projections that beckon to the hand.â Adamson characterized âGreensâ as âa feat of engineering as well as a tour de force of woodcarving," a complex installation consisting in
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magazine (October 1999), described âThe Planetâ as âan irregular, wildly textured circle, riddled with textural incident. The piece is unified by a rhythm of alternating jagged forms and restful, smooth shapes. The work has been called âone of the most touched pieces of sculpture you could find,â and
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From 2008 to 2012, the Lucid Art
Foundation in collaboration with JB Blunk's family, created an artist Residency at the home and studio of the late JB Blunk in Inverness, California. The four-year Residency program served 18 national and international artists. Information on the Residency program
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indeed it still serves as a play space, bench and oversized toy for visitors to the museum." Artist Garry Knox
Bennett has said, âItâs a masterpiece. Itâs an absolute masterpiece. Not only does it look good, when you see kids climbing on that and under it, you know itâs eminently successful.â
159:âJ.B. does them honor in carving them as he does, finding true art in the working, allowing their ponderous bulk, waking them from their long sleep to become part of our own life and times, sharing with us the afterglow of a land that was once here.â
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Blunk's work continues to be exhibited in galleries such as the
Landing Gallery of Los Angeles, Kate MacGarry of London, and Blum & Poe galleries around the world. His work is also offered at auction by firms such as Sotheby's.
33:(1926â2002) was a sculptor who worked primarily in wood and clay. In addition to the pieces he produced in wood and ceramics, Blunk worked in other media, including jewelry, furniture, painting, bronze, and stone.
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Biographical information along with lists of collections and exhibits plus photographs of JB Blunk's workâand himself at workâmay be found at the official JB Blunk website listed below.
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From 1958 to 1962, Blunk, along with his then wife Nancy Waite, designed and built a redwood cabin by hand. The Blunk House as it is called, is located in
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73:(1896â1967). Blunk was the first American to apprentice into the line of descent of that country's great unglazed stoneware ceramic tradition.
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142:, Arboretum. âWheat Walkâ was awarded first prize in an International Design Arts Competition. "Wheat Walk" has yet to be constructed.
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2017 'Hippie
Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia', The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
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2018 'Ship of Dreams: Artists, Poets, and
Visionaries of the S.S. Vallejo', Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA
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Among Blunk's best-known and highly regarded public works is âThe Planetâ (1969), located in the lobby of the
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2019 'Ship of Dreams: Artists, Poets, and
Visionaries of the S.S. Vallejo', Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
166:. The home contains a wood and ceramic studio Blunk used to complete some of his now well known pieces.
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Two other works are âMagic Boat,â at the
California Orientation Center for the Blind, and âGreens,â at
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Oral history interview with JB Blunk, 2002 May 16, Archives of
American Art, Smithsonian Institution
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1986 Solo show, âA Sculptorâs Placeâ, San
Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
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After returning to the U.S., Blunk was eventually able to build his own home and studio near the
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Adamson, Monica. âEast Bay Expedition: The Oakand Museum Retains Its Historical Significance.â
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2022 'Three Landscapes: JB Blunk, Anna and Lawrence Halprin', Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
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in 1951 where he studied physics, later changing his major and studying under noted ceramist
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2018 'JB Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life', Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
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1989 Solo show, 'Sculptures, Ceramics, Stone, Wood', Smith Anderson Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
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2018 'In Conversation: Alma Allen and JB Blunk', Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA
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2018 FOG Design + Art Fair, with Reform/The Landing and Blum & Poe, San Francisco, CA
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Oral history interview with Garry Knox Bennett, 2002 Feb. 1-2, Archives of American Art,
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1984 Solo show of ceramics, â100 Plates Plusâ, Oklahoma State University, Norman, OK
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1978 Solo show, âSculptures 1952-1977â, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
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1981 Solo show of ceramics, â100 Plates Plusâ, David Cole Gallery, Inverness, CA
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2019 'In Conversation: Alma Allen and JB Blunk', Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
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1982 Solo show of ceramics, â100 Plates Plusâ University of North Dakota, ND
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2015 'Art and Other Tactics', Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA
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2015 'JB Blunk: painting, drawing, sculpture', the Landing, Los Angeles, CA
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1999 Group show with John Anderson, Eubank Studio, Point Reyes Station, CA
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1976 âSculpture in the Bay Areaâ, James Willis Gallery, San Francisco, CA
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1981 Solo show of ceramics, â100 Plates Plusâ, Artspace, Los Angeles, CA
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2018 'Marin Collects', College of Marin Fine Arts Gallery, Kentfield, CA
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http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/bennet02.htm
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Studio Furniture of the Renwick Gallery: Smithsonian American Art Museum
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2011 âBig A@# Sculpture Showâ, Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA
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2005 Solo show, Dance Palace Community Center, Point Reyes Station, CA
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2019 FOG Design + Art Fair, with Reform/The Landing, San Francisco, CA
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1958 âEast/West Exhibitionâ, San Francisco Museum, San Francisco, CA
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1974 âOutdoor Sculptureâ, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
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1982 Group show, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
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2011 'Crafting Modernism', Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
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may be found at the Lucid Art Foundation website www.lucidart.org.
484:. Oscar P. Fitzgerald. Fox Chapel Publishing (September 1, 2008).
84:, where he had a lifelong friendship and association with painter
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1956 Group show at the Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
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2000 Solo show, âCalifornia Spiritâ, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
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2008 Design Miami/Basel with Reform Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
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Modern Americana: Studio Furniture From High Craft to High Glam
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and Rachada Chantaviriyavit on âWheat Walk,â a project for the
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Guide to Architecture in San Francisco and Northern California
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1991 Group show, Claudia Chapline Gallery, Stinson Beach, CA
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2009 SF20 Design Fair with Reform Gallery, San Francisco, CA
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California Design: The Legacy of West Coast Craft and Style
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1965 Group show, Egg and the Eye Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
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2019 Dallas Art Fair, with Reform/The Landing, Dallas, TX
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1977 Group show, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA
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2018 'Designed in California', SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
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in Japan and served apprenticeships with Japanese potter
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Lot 84: JB Blunk, Stool cypress - Sotheby's | Invaluable
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2018 Frieze New York, with Blum & Poe, New York, NY
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characterized the contributions of JB Blunk as follows:
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The Maker's Hand, American Studio Furniture, 1940 -1990
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1978 Group show, Galerie Schreiner, Basel, Switzerland
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2007 Design Miami/Basel with Reform Gallery, Miami, FL
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2010 'The Anniversary Show', SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
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2012 Frieze Art Fair with Blum & Poe, New York, NY
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In 1988, Blunk collaborated with landscape architects
458:. Suzanne Baizerman, et al. Chronicle Books, 2005.
288:1983 Group show, David Cole Gallery, Inverness, CA
252:2010 Frieze Art Fair, Blum & Poe, New York, NY
702:Conversation on the JB Blunk Residencyâwith images
654:"A Little House in the Big Woods (Published 2016)"
510:"A Little House in the Big Woods (Published 2016)"
443:The Life of Isamu Noguchi: Journey without Borders
228:2017 'Chair Stories', Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA
126:Center in the Marina District of the city. In his
53:. After serving in the United States Army in the
445:. Masayo Duus. Princeton University Press, 2004.
342:1954 Solo show, Chou-Koron Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
471:. Julie Iovine and Todd Merrill. Rizzoli, 2008.
255:2010 Solo show, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
419:. David Gebhard. Gibbs Smith Publishers, 1986.
318:1973 Group show, Lester Gallery, Inverness, CA
321:1970 âWith These Handsâ, ABC Documentary Film
231:2016 'JB Blunk', Blum & Poe, Tokyo, Japan
712:Glenn Adamson on JB Blunk and his work, from
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330:, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
201:2018 'JB Blunk', Kate MacGarry, London, UK
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386:Weyerhauser Company, Tacoma, Washington
47:University of California, Los Angeles
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615:Johnson, Jory. âDavis Competition."
367:University of California, Santa Cruz
41:James "JB" Blain Blunk was born in
766:20th-century American male artists
432:. MFA Publications. Boston, 2003.
352:San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
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761:People from Inverness, California
118:, the restaurant operated by the
65:(1883â1959) and Bizen potter and
746:20th-century American sculptors
555:"About | Bruce Mitchell Studio"
140:University of California, Davis
652:Fortini, Amanda (2016-11-17).
508:Fortini, Amanda (2016-11-17).
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697:About The JB Blunk Residency
582:http://jbblunk.com/biography
383:Grubb and Ellis, Oakland, CA
98:Oakland Museum of California
639:JB Blunk Official Website.
27:American artist (1926â2002)
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756:People from Ottawa, Kansas
576:Excerpt from October 1999
690:JB Blunk official website
619:. January 1989. pp. 60-67
403:City of Thousand Oaks, CA
37:Background and influences
398:Lawrence Hall of Science
390:San Francisco Zen Center
120:San Francisco Zen Center
67:Living National Treasure
45:. He graduated from the
751:American male sculptors
641:http://jbblunk.com/home
601:Smithsonian Institution
580:magazine, reprinted at
378:Smithsonian Institution
716:magazine, October 1999
617:Landscape Architecture
542:Honolulu Star-Bulletin
406:City of Menlo Park, CA
164:Inverness, California
82:Inverness, California
721:Lucid Art Foundation
346:Selected collections
394:State of California
372:Stanford University
658:The New York Times
587:2009-08-24 at the
514:The New York Times
380:, Washington, D.C.
86:Gordon Onslow Ford
57:, he met sculptor
363:Stevenson College
182:Selected exhibits
16:(Redirected from
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730:Categories
671:2020-10-27
560:2021-07-22
527:2020-11-01
496:References
124:Fort Mason
55:Korean War
18:J.B. Blunk
666:0362-4331
522:0362-4331
149:Sculptor
714:Woodwork
585:Archived
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411:See also
128:Woodwork
108:Woodwork
80:town of
31:JB Blunk
122:at the
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170:Legacy
116:Greens
324:1969
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