ABOVE, JONATHAN CROSS IN
HIS JOSHUA TREE WORKSHOP,
WHERE HE TYPICALLY WORKS
FOR 16-HOUR STRETCHES
WHEN FIRING HIS PIECES IN
HIS TWO OUTDOOR KILNS
OPPOSITE, EVERY PIECE STARTS
OFF AS A SOLID BLOCK OF
CLAY, WHICH CROSS CARVES
INTO ROBUST, ORGANIC
FORMS, BEFORE PLACING
THEM IN THE WOOD-FIRE KILNFusing art and craft in his Joshua Tree workshop,
Jonathan Cross uses wood-firing techniques to give his
hand-carved stoneware an eroded, otherworldly patina.
At once geological and post-apocalyptic, his vessels
have garnered a cult following among collectors.
Cross’ ability to coax the ephemeral out of the solid is
what attracted us to commission him to make a trio of
incense burners, a typology that he has experimented
with for the last couple of years. ‘For Wallpaper*,
I created incense burners that have a very strong
architectural feel,’ explains Cross. ‘Some have more
than one aperture for the smoke to escape, so it creates
different kinds of patterns in the air. It’s really beautiful
to watch.’ Ironically, Cross is not an incense fan. ‘There
are very few smells that I enjoy, so I don’t actually burn
incense. But a lot of my design is based on imagination.
I imagine the way the smoke might work.’
Cross’ ability to visualise a concept undoubtedly
stems from his background as an artist. An avid
illustrator since his youth, he grew up copying his
favourite comic books, Spider-Man and Spawn, whichhelped him to develop a strong sense of line, contour
and silhouette that he retains today. Trained as
a painter and printmaker in his hometown of Dallas,
Texas, he went on to work at Los Angeles’ legendary
Gemini GEL artists’ workshop, producing limited-
edition prints with artists including Bruce Nauman,
Joel Shapiro and Ellsworth Kelly.
‘It was kind of a fluke because I was actually just
going to visit the space, but the manager thought
I was there to look for a job,’ says Cross. ‘One of my
absolute heroes in art, Richard Serra, was the primary
artist I worked with while I was there. He was a joy,
but I kind of stopped making art because I was
exhausted from working on the prints all day long.’
Cross discovered ceramics by chance, when he
started collecting cacti: ‘I couldn’t find any decent
or interesting planters, so I started taking clay classes
at the local junior college and it never stopped.’ In
2008, he left Gemini GEL, committed to the kiln and
took a master’s degree in ceramics at Arizona State
University. There he was introduced to the ancient »DESERT FIRE
‘Architecture for Smoke’ incense burners, by Jonathan Cross
PHOTOGRAPHY: PIA RIVEROLA WRITER: PEI-RU KEHSee the
finished exhibition
piece on page 174Making Of...