Construction

John Mason, a California potter-sculptor, attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and the Otis Art Institute, studied under Peter Voulkos from 1955 to 1957, and shared a studio with Voulkos from 1957 to 1959. Mason, along with Voulkos and other west coast artists, blurred the boundaries between traditional ceramics and sculpture in the 1950s and 60s. Mason's abstract works reflect the spirit of experimentation and aggressiveness embodied by the earlier Abstract Expressionist painters, such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Hans Hofmann. This particular piece appears to be part of a series of sculptures that were based on the ancient form of the cross, though Mason denied any religious connotation. His crosses were often deconstructions, turned on their edges or featuring double or triple horizontal bars. The work also reflects Mason's interest in and experimentation with colored glazes.