FRED STODDER

MEDIUM

Ceramics

ARTIST STATEMENT

“I sense color and shapes harmonizing in an almost musical context, and I try to bring together separate elements in ways unrelated to previous thinking.”

ARTIST BIO

Fred Stodder grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and discovered his passion for ceramics at the age of sixteen. Just two years later, he began exhibiting his work, launching a lifelong journey into his ceramic art. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine, and now works out of his studio in San Juan Capistrano.

Stodder’s ceramic art has been showcased in galleries, museums, and art festivals across the United States. His work has garnered numerous awards, is held in prominent collections, and has been featured in *Ceramics Monthly* and other national arts publications.

While rooted in one of the world’s oldest art forms, Stodder’s ceramics break from tradition through their bold geometry, vivid color palettes, and sharply defined glazes. His aesthetic draws inspiration from ceramic history, modernist movements, architecture, and the improvisational spirit of jazz.

Each piece is crafted from white earthenware clay and bisque fired to approximately 1950°F. He uses airbrushed underglazes to create smooth gradations—transitioning from warm to cool tones and from light to dark—and applies both translucent and opaque low-fire glazes to define solid color fields with precision.

ARTIST VIDEO