Victor Babu is a well-known ceramics artist in the U.S. His work has been and continues to be exhibited in museums the world over. He has been a well-known teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute. He has taught at the university level for more than 30 decades and presently is Professor Emeritus at the Art Institute.

The piece for sale here is almost 11" in diameter and about 1 ¾" tall. It is probably technically a plate. But in this case, one would hardly use it in any sort of utilitarian way. It is strictly a piece of art work. The description that follows was extraordinarily difficult to execute, but very necessary as the work is very difficult to photograph.

The plate is actually a very shallow bowl, considering the outer edge is raised up as far as it is. The rim is about ¾" wide and has a sharp ‘edge’ to it. From there it slopes outward ½". Before the piece ‘descends’ from the rim there is a line that runs the circumference of the plate. The piece is the lightest oatmeal in color, with small dark speckles throughout. The oatmeal color has the most subtle hint of lime green.

Now the magic of this piece begins. Babu has used the inner sections of the bowl as a canvas for his abstract ‘drawing’ that is very arbitrary in style. He used a heavier glaze of the same color to construct these figurations. One is first struck by the memory of Jackson Pollock and his ‘drip’ paintings. It is very similar in style, but not as complex. The concentration of most of the activity is in the area below the rim. But, the lines do wander at times up onto the rim.

Although completely abstract, there is a sense of balance, spacing, curves vs. straight, etc. It is definitely a complete ‘painting’ on its own. The whole of this creation is very satisfying and very intriguing to sit and contemplate.

This piece will only work in a gallery or museum-type setting, placed apart from the activity of nearby works. Whoever ends up with this plate will have a find that can only increase in value with each passing year. It is truly a treasure.

CODE #07-09