Jack Earl (born August 2, 1934, in Uniopolis, Ohio) is an American ceramic artist and former teacher, known for drawing inspiration from his home state of Ohio to create rural pieces “with meticulous craftsmanship and astute details… to where you could smell the air, hear the silence and swat the flies.”[1] Although his works hint at highly personal, intellectual, and narrative themes in an almost unsettling manner, Earl is “a self-described anti-intellectual who shuns the art world.
[5] His work has received a notable response over his decades-long career, especially since he is regarded as “a master at reminding us that within the events we take for granted are moments of never-ending mystery and wonder.”[6] Earl continues to live in Lakeview, Ohio with his wife, Fairlie.
[8] He was interested in making and studying historical porcelain figurines, and by the early 1970s Earl’s “whimsical”[8] pieces “had transformed the European tradition into a thoroughly modern and American idiom".
After having one of his porcelain sculptures selected into Objects: USA, a touring national exhibition from 1969 to 1971 organized by SC Johnson and Son, Inc. (Racine, WI), Earl’s work began to gain recognition.
…There has to be a sense of mystery in what you make.” –Jack Earl to Jane Milosch, June 2007[10] “I’ve done the only thing I could do, so there’s no glory in that… There’s no thought in it, you’re just being led because it’s what you do… to know your limitations is very beneficial.