by Rebecca Romani

October 8, 2025

MCM or Mid-Century Modern has been having a moment in San Diego, and nowhere is that moment more effectively illustrated than in a group of shows that take a close look at how the midcentury aesthetic developed in San Diego, spreading through the West Coast and influencing and being influenced by East Coast design.

The three shows- In the Design Center, Boundless, and Restitched (opening in November) are a provocative and fascinating look at how mid-century design defined domestic interior spaces.

This is especially true of “Boundless”, currently on exhibit at the Mingei Museum through June 7, 2026.

Brilliantly curated by Guusje Sanders, the show is a vibrant look at the depth and variety of ceramics produced in a post-war, mid-century California heavily influenced by the crafts movement and the California landscape photography of Ansel Adams.

Many visitors to the show might be struck be an odd sense of déjà vu- in part because the pottery on display was a common staple of mid-century homes- from kitchenware to dramatic over-sized vases.

According to Sanders, much of the mid-century movement ranges from the post-war (WWII) era into the early 70’s, influenced as it was, she says, by post-War sentiments, transient populations, changing social attitudes and expectation, and access to materials.

Most of the pieces in the show, says Sanders, come from The Mingei’s own considerable collection- some donated, others acquired. “We had an object list of 400 pieces!” Sanders told Vanguard Culture. According to Sanders, some of what guided the Mingei’s acquisition choices was the creative vision of the museum’s founder, Martha Longenecker, an artist herself. Longenecker was an accomplished ceramicist and had studied the Japanese concept of “Mingei” which emphasizes the beauty found in everyday objects often made by anonymous craftsmen.

Sanders believes strongly in “nothing occurs in a vacuum” and has applied this to the layout of ceramics in Boundless.

The show, itself, she says, is a carefully curated conversation between pieces and the visuals that may have motivated certain choices in slip color and finish. Many of the pieces are grouped by maker and color family.

Among other things, Sanders sees clear connections between post-war culture and the development of the ceramics movement, especially in California.

The MCM idea of craft seems to rise both from the idea of wartime rationing as well as a desire to create something that radiates beauty and function after the horrors of war.

Martha Drexler Lynn suggests in her book, “American Studio Ceramics,” that the Japanese idea of “Mingei” appealed in particular to the American ceramicists because it presented a way of using function and beauty to transcend the hardships and stress of the war period.

California’s experience of WWII was quite different from the rest of the country. Like most of the United States, California experienced profound materials rationing. However, unlike most of the US, California also experienced blackouts and fear of Japanese subs off the Coast.

The fear of enemy presence hit California especially hard. Thousands of its Japanese and Japanese American residents, including farmers, businessmen, and artists were sent to “relocation” camps in remote locations after 1941 for the duration of the war. When they returned, many turned to craftwork for comfort and access to household objects.

In addition, says Sanders, shifting populations- people moving to California from other parts of the US, immigrants from Europe, and returning military, brought with them a shifting visual understanding that included patterns and use of color from elsewhere.

Something that stands out in the show is the attention to shape and color. The shapes are often sleek, or architectural, eschewing the more formal pieces which dominated previous decades. Full round vases with pronounced lips and containers rub shoulders with serving pieces that look like mini towers or pools of color sitting placidly in acrylic cases that allow full viewing.

What also stands out is the preponderance of female ceramicists and couples.

Many of the women, such as Mingei founder Martha Longenecker, studied their craft in college and studios, often becoming teachers in their own right.

Couples such as Otto and Gertrud Natzler and Otto and Vivika Heino created independent work, often developing their own specialties within their partnership. In the case of the Natzlers, Gertrude usually threw the pots while Otto developed the glazes, coming up with dozens of new glaze recipes as well as techniques. The Heinos also both taught ceramics and Otto experimented with glazes and finishes while Vivika experimented with shapes.

Sanders’ observant eye has also spotted other elements that influenced the ceramicists, almost all active in California.

“We can see the landscape though the lens of pottery” she said, explaining that California’s landscape seems to have been a major influence on the ceramicists.

The depth of the greens echoes the kelp and tide pools many would have seen as well as the forest vegetation along the coast, while the beiges and browns recall the foothills in summer. Brilliant sunsets and sunrises gave rise to blazing variations in oranges, yellows, and reds.

To emphasize the color connections, Sanders has paired groups of colorings with photos of tide pools, shells, kelp, sunrises, and deserts, among other images.

One of the things Sanders would like people to notice is the variety of surfaces among the potters. Some choose to texture the clay before firing while others experiment with glaze techniques.

“There is clearly a playfulness,” says Sanders, of how some off the potters experimented with developments in technology (in terms of kilns) and pigment. Some even went as far as to seek out their own clay and to vary firing practices to see what would result, like crackle patterns.

According to Sanders, many embraced the idea of “mistakes” as happy events that added additional design techniques to their repertoire.

To help people understand the complexity of the creativity represented, Sanders has turned to science to explain what is on display. One section of the gallery explains the various processes used to produce the finishes and cards of color blocks name and explain the colors of the slips.

With all the extraordinary pottery to choose, did Sanders have a favorite piece?

“Oh, yes,” Sanders smiles, and points to an unassuming greenish bowl which is the Ur-ceramic of the collection. It is this piece that Sanders credits with inspiring her to think about the relationship between the pottery in the show and California’s landscapes.

But the show encompasses so much more than beautiful shapes and small scientific miracles. It is both a look backward and a look forward at how American individualism, creativity and ingenuity respond to social and geopolitical pressure, seeking comfort in creation and perspective in form.

It is a lesson that 75 years later may again guide our steps…

The show is accompanied by various surround events.

Tour: Sanders will lead a tour of the exhibit November 13 at 1 pm. Registration is highly recommended. However, for the moment, the tour is sold out.

Hands on: Want to play with clay? The activity, Clay Together, works with brightly hued clay to create beads you could use for jewelry to represent a coastal sunset while enjoying creating with others. Registration is required. Nov. 17 from 5-7 pm.

If you prefer the desert, a similar workshop is scheduled for January.