Stanley Edmondson (b. 1962, Pasadena, CA) is a Los Angeles based artist whose singular ceramic based practice is deeply influenced by his close relationships to artists and mentors over the years such as Peter Voulkos, Michael Frimkess, John Mason, and his late father, Leonard Edmondson. (Leonard Edmondson was the Chairman of the Design Department at Otis Art Institute during California’s revolution in clay sculpture.) Working predominantly with homemade clay, Edmondson embraces the Bauhaus practice of weaving craft with fine art and the technical challenges of fabrication. Edmondson’s works are reminiscent of the California Funk Art Movement, but take deeper inspiration from 1960s and 70s comics and anime. In recent years, Edmondson has aided in the practices of contemporary artists Roger Herman, Ruby Neri, and Kenny Scharf. Exhibitions include Stanley's Playground, Nicodim, Los Angeles (2024, solo); He had it since he first got it, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami (2023, solo); Stanley Edmondson, Sea View, Los Angeles (2023, solo); Feeling Without Touching, Nicodim, New York (2023); Stanley’s Circus, Nicodim, Los Angeles (2021, solo); Stanley Edmondson, Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles (2020, solo); Alchemy, Lefebvre et Fils, Paris (2018, solo); Clay for John Mason, South Willard, Los Angeles (2017, solo); Lifted Spirits, Los Angeles Arboretum, Arcadia (2015), and Outdoor Exhibition, Maloof Foundation, Rancho Cucamonga (2014).
What is your creative process and how has it evolved?
I’m trying to recapture the aloofness of being 8 years old. Children when they create are not as worried about impressing anybody, the inner critic isn’t there, they are just playing, and that’s a type of freedom.
The most arresting thing about Edmondson’s installation is the unapologetic whimsy of his ceramic sculptures. Some artists have touched on this territory, (Niki de Saint-Phalle immediately comes to mind), but Edmondson’s circus retains the earthy brutalism that characterizes his previous work, and that makes for an interesting mix. In a sense he has weaponized fun, taking simple toy-like shapes and figures and making them monumental and immobile. Edmondson’s larger-than-life sculptures are more totem than toys, oversized reminders of childhood that are both playful and iconic.
