Ward Schumaker

Roll Up Project is pleased to present ceramic sculptures by Ward Schumaker. Schumaker began working in clay in 2022 after watching an artist make pinch pots in a YouTube video. What began as an exploration of the medium swiftly became an essential part of his practice, forming a counterpoint to his paintings, drawings, and wood sculptures.

Several works are displayed on a low plinth in the Harrison Street window, forming a scene that recalls archaeological or natural history specimens. In Abbondanza (2023), three oversize coins spill out of a broken sphere. While the surface appears to be patinated bronze, it is instead a result of Schumaker’s experimental studio approach. He sometimes goes against the advice of potters and tries a technique to see what will happen, and the resulting effects mimic bronze, mossy stone, and cracking leather. Some sculptures, like the three Spirit Rocks on the shelf, contain grit and clay fragments in an approximation of limestone or tuff.

Around the corner in the Third Street windows, Schumaker presents three sculptures and an oversize print featuring an image of Big Guy (2025), a snowman on wheels. Seeing the sculpture beside the large print, the viewer is able to take in more details, and to admire Schumaker’s knack for color and layout. His background in design and artist books informs his approach to representing these sculptures and turning them into graphic elements.

In both windows, most of the works on view rest on individual glazed ceramic bases that appear to curve or indent slightly to hold the sculptures, as if made of foam instead of glazed ceramic. The bases make each object into something special and worth examining, as if presented for close observation, and potentially, for ceremonial use. As with ancient artifacts, there is not always a clear function to these sculptures. But that is not the point. It is the act of reflecting on each object’s qualities, on its own and in concert with the entire group, that may reveal something about the way we live, and the way our predecessors have lived for tens of thousands of years, with handmade objects.

About the Artist

Ward Schumaker is an artist based in San Francisco. During his 40+ year career in illustration, his work has been reproduced in over 100 publications including the New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and The Boston Globe, and he has received awards from the New York Art Directors Club, Print Magazine, and Communication Arts. Schumaker’s paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Charleston, Miami, and Nashville. His work is held in public collections including the Achenbach Foundation/Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha, NE), and the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA).

Learn more about Ward Schumaker on his website or Instagram.