The David Kordansky Gallery presents a captivating and immersive exhibition, titled “Doyle Lane: Weed Pots.” At the core of this exhibition are the modest yet significant “weed pots,” which have been a prominent feature in modern California interiors since the late 1950s. These pots, typically no taller than 3 or 4 inches, possess spherical or elliptical volumes with a short, narrow neck and small mouth designed to hold dried sprigs of weed.
From this unassuming beginning, artist Doyle Lane (1923-2002), an African American, developed a breathtaking universe of color, shape, texture, and proportion. While Lane’s artistic practice extended to ceramic tile, pendant jewelry, paintings, and murals, the “weed pot” remained his signature creation. The David Kordansky Gallery’s exhibition showcases 100 of Lane’s pots and marks his first solo show in New York. It provides an opportunity for close observation and serves as a powerful reminder of the impact of form.
Although Lane did not invent the “weed pot,” this exhibition highlights his mastery of it. Within this confined form, Lane unleashed his miraculous glazes, working alone in his studio in El Sereno, East Los Angeles, with only two small kilns. One standout pot possesses a timeless quality, reminiscent of unearthed artifacts from Peru or China, yet it also exudes a contemporary essence. This piece features a double glaze—an underglaze of light matte green and a brittle yellow glaze on top. During firing, the yellow glaze blisters, creating holes that expose the green layer.
The exhibition is curated by Ricky Swallow, an Australian-born, Los Angeles-based sculptor who discovered Lane’s pots in 2010 at an antiques mall in Pasadena. Swallow previously curated a smaller version of this exhibition for Kordansky’s Los Angeles location in 2020. The installation at the gallery is luxurious, with the pots elegantly arranged in seven vitrines, each containing 14 pots, offering ample space for viewers to appreciate each piece from all angles. Additionally, the accompanying catalog, while not a comprehensive monograph, provides a wealth of information about Lane and his artistic environment.
Doyle Lane, originally from New Orleans, relocated to Los Angeles in 1946. He studied ceramics at East Los Angeles City College and the University of Southern California. Lane was fortunate to secure a coveted position as a glaze technician at L.H. Butcher, an industrial chemical company, where he spent eight years formulating and testing countless glaze variations. This experience provided Lane with invaluable knowledge and skills that few other postwar artist-potters possessed.
Two areas of particular interest are evident in Lane’s work. Firstly, he demonstrates a passion for red and orange glazes, which adorn almost a third of the pots in the exhibition. Secondly, Lane expertly harnesses chance during the glaze firing process, encouraging imperfections such as cracking and crawling. Cracking, a technique pursued by Chinese and Korean potters, involves the glaze contracting and revealing sections of exposed clay. Lane often accentuated these areas with yellow or ocher stains to enhance the contrast. Some pots demonstrate the convergence of cracking and crawling, as seen in an orange glaze on an ocher-stained pot. The glaze contracts to form dense-packed low reliefs that resemble entrails.
Lane’s glazes exude an experimental quality, yet he possessed an intuitive understanding of their behavior. According to Swallow, Lane approached his kiln like a skilled musician, strategically considering its placement and knowing precisely when to intervene to control the firing process.
The small size of Lane’s pots served multiple purposes. It allowed him to make a living through his work. These pots efficiently fit into his small kilns and were easy to transport. Lane had only a few gallery shows in Los Angeles and none elsewhere, primarily selling his creations from showrooms next to his studio, at craft fairs, and occasionally through door-to-door sales. The small size also played an aesthetic role, allowing viewers to engage intimately with each piece and appreciate the granular details. Besides Lane’s remarkable glazes, his meticulous attention to shape, weight, and volume elevates these “weed pots.” Round pots possess perfectly rounded silhouettes, while others feature gentle swells above or below, evoking a sense of quiet balance and animation.
Lane once stated that many of his colors did not exist until he mastered their creation. The originality of his work transcends mere craftsmanship, establishing these weed pots as artworks. They represent a historical pinnacle that transcends mediums and cultures, functioning as period pieces that have withstood the test of time.
The exhibition “Doyle Lane: Weed Pots” is on view at the David Kordansky Gallery until Aug. 4. Located at 520 West 20th Street in Manhattan, visitors can explore Lane’s extraordinary creations. For more information, visit davidkordanskygallery.com or call 212-390-0079.
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