Frank Matranga Manhattan Beach California Pottery Spiral Design Vase ca 1970s

This glaze on this vase has a beautiful coloration including purples, reds, blues and browns, The design has an interesting twist or spiral design with ribbing. Signed Matranga on the raw clay along the bottom rim of the vase,

It is a rather large vase at 13 1/2″ high and 7 1/2″ wide, The mouth measures 5 1/4″ wide and base measures 4 1/2″ wide.

Original condition. No chips or cracks or noticeable scratches seen. There are a three tiny glaze pops that I see from original production as well as a series of glaze skips at the bottom from original production. See photos for details.

Frank Matranga received his BA and MA from Los Angeles State University. While working on his MA, he was offered a job teaching ceramics at a local high school. This led him to discover a lifelong love affair with clay. He completed his master’s degree in art and later studied at the University of Southern California under Carlton Ball. In 1961 he started his own ceramic studio in Redondo Beach (later moved to Manhattan Beach) and began to teach in the Los Angeles Community College system, which he would do for the next twenty years.

His public art career began in 1970 when Sears, Roebuck, and Company commissioned him to create seven murals for Sears stores in the Southern California area. In the following decades he has completed over 50 ceramic mural commissions for libraries, private companies, and homes. In 1977 and 1979 he was invited to be an artist in residence in Japan, where he exhibited at the American Embassy Gallery in Tokyo. His work has also been shown in Australia and Germany. Source: LA County Department if Arts and Culture