Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Michael Thompson
"Caress of Water, " Mixed Media Sculpture

2023

$7,000
£5,307.33
€6,196.06
CA$10,009.32
A$10,163.64
CHF 5,801.95
MX$122,810.27
NOK 68,153.36
SEK 67,967.42
DKK 46,320.53

About the Item

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics Thompson gathered from the Thames River at low tide in a practice known as “mudlarking.” Fragments of blue-and-white porcelain swirl in currents around the base of this large earthenware jar entitled “Caress of Water,” swelling and receding like the churning tides. Ceramic figurines, serveware, and objets d'art merge and fuse into waves of bold blue color, each glazed in the style of Chinese export, majolica, talavera and chinoiserie wares. To form the collage, well-placed shards are plastered to the side of a found jug with mottled brown glaze. The jar itself is brushed with a blue floral motif and marked by a repaired hairline crack, preserved in the spirit of collage or kintsugi. The amalgam of forms that comprise the jug’s relief achieves a continuous, amorphous surface texture, contrasted - upon closer inspection - by the delicate, ornate details of the individual fragments. "Caress of Water," 2024 Michael Thompson Porcelain shards and found objects on stoneware vessel.

More From This Seller

View All
"Bouquet, " Mixed Media Sculpture

"Bouquet, " Mixed Media Sculpture

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

"Beach-Combed Mochaware, " Mixed Media Sculpture

"Beach-Combed Mochaware, " Mixed Media Sculpture

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

"Pompeii, " Mixed Media Sculpture

"Pompeii, " Mixed Media Sculpture

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

"Iridescence, " Mixed Media Sculpture

"Iridescence, " Mixed Media Sculpture

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

"Ebb Tide, " Mixed Media Collage

"Ebb Tide, " Mixed Media Collage

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Mixed Media

Materials

Fabric, Silk, Wood

You May Also Like

"Caress of Water" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson

"Caress of Water" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Ceramic Texture Vessel Sculpture Abstract

Ceramic Texture Vessel Sculpture Abstract

By Neil Tetkowski

Located in Buffalo, NY

The material of choice for Neil Tetkowski's abstract sculptural work comes directly from the Earth. Most often he uses clay, which he believes is the perfect medium to express his re...

Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Raiz Sculptural Vessel in Ceramic by Julius Nobre

Raiz Sculptural Vessel in Ceramic by Julius Nobre

Located in Geneve, CH

Raiz Sculptural Vessel in Ceramic by Julius Nobre. Dimensions: W 15 x D 15 x H 30 cm. Materials: Ceramic. Between folds that recall bark, roots, and layers of memory, this piece gu...

Category

2010s Brazilian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

"Beach-Combed Mochaware" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson

"Beach-Combed Mochaware" Memory Jug by Michael Thompson

By Michael Thompson

Located in Chicago, IL

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. In his ongoing series of memory jugs, Thompson adorns stoneware vessels with a kaleidoscope of ceramic shards, found objects, and pocket-sized trinkets he collected over the course of his life. Also known as forget-me-not jugs or spirit jars, memory jugs are African American folk art objects that honor a loved one who has recently passed. Small tokens and mementos of the deceased are gathered and affixed to the exterior of a jug or vase, an abundance of memories that celebrates a life lived to the fullest. Michael Thompson applies this tradition to his own practice, creating tactile assemblages of this and that. Formed in the manner of collage, each jug honors the lost memories of generations past and his own memories of personally discovering each item. With varied sources for materials including Kyoto, Turkey, and Mexico, a great number of the found shards are 18th and 19th century ceramics...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Contemporary Design, Abstract Ceramic Sculpture, Glazed Stoneware, Luster

Contemporary Design, Abstract Ceramic Sculpture, Glazed Stoneware, Luster

By José Sierra 1

Located in St. Louis, MO

Contemporary Design, Abstract Ceramic Sculpture, Glazed Stoneware, Luster José Sierra is a self-taught artist and ceramicist, born in Mérida, Venezuela in 1975. His work draws inspi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Luster, Stoneware, Glaze