Timeline: Karl Martz

TimeLine: Karl Martz
* Invitational Exhibitions

Most of the information here comes from Karl's vita. Some comes from interviews of Becky Brown in the 1990's, conducted by Ginny Marsh (items marked [GM]). Items marked [TB] came from a 1977 biography of Karl by Theodore Bowie (1905-1995), who was an art historian in the Indiana University Department of Fine Arts. The biography was written for Karl's retrospective exhibit in 1977, and published in the retrospective catalog.

This timeline does not include all exhibitions. For a more complete list, see the catalog Karl Martz Potter Retrospective, 1977, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, Indiana.

June 24, 1912, Karl is born near Columbus, Ohio. See Karl at age 8.
1929 [GM], Karl graduates from Bloomington High School in the spring, and begins college in the fall at Indiana University, Bloomington.
1931, A summer course at Ohio State University provides Karl's first exposure to a professional ceramic art studio.
1932. During the summer, Karl helps the Griffith Pottery in Nashville, Indiana, improve their glaze formulas.
1933, Karl graduates with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Indiana University, and spends a second summer working at the Griffith Pottery in Nashville, Indiana.
1933-34, Karl returns to Ohio State for graduate work in ceramic art with Arthur E. Baggs, Carlton Atherton, Edgar Littlefield.
1934-35, Apprenticeship at Brown County Pottery. "After a year, I decided I'd rather do it on my own." [Martz, 1991].
1935, married Margaret Rebekah "Becky" Brown.

See Karl Martz in the 1930's and Brown County.
1936, 1937, work exhibited in the National Ceramic Exhibition in Syracuse and included in the circuit.
1937, set up first ceramics workshop and showroom at the Batchfield Cabin, where he was discovered by his subsequent patron Scott Murphy.
*1937, Second Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibition, The Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1936-1940, won 35 prizes for pottery in the Indiana State Fair.
1938-42, operated the Karl Martz Pottery in the Pink House, Nashville, Indiana.
1938-42, acted in plays "under the stars" at the Brown County Theatre.
*1938, Rural Arts Exhibit, Dept. Agriculture, Washington, DC.
1939, prize for pottery in the Indiana Handicrafts Annual.
1939, Karl and Becky spent some time in Columbus, Ohio, so that Karl could do additional graduate work [GM]. They lived with relatives.
1940, son Eric born while the family lived in the Pink House.
1940(?), submitted application for a Guggenheim fellowship (not funded), possibly based on this unpublished plan.
*1940, National Art Week Exhibition, Washington, DC.
*1940, Fifth Annual Contemporary Crafts Exhibition, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Pennsylvania.
*1940, Exhibition of Ceramics, National Arts Club, New York City.
1940, Honorable Mention, National Ceramic Exhibition, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse NY.
1940, One-artist shows at New York State Normal School, Oswego, New York; Muncie Art Association, Muncie, Indiana; Madison School for Vocational and Adult Education, Madison, Wisconsin.
1941, Honorable Mention, National Ceramic Exhibition, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse NY.
1942, son Brian born while the family lived in the Mathis house, Nashville, Indiana.
1943, January, family moves to Chicago, Illinois.
1943, ceramic testing laboratory, Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp., South Chicago IL (3 months).
1943-44, Assistant Ceramist, Armour Research Foundation, Chicago. Industrial research on non-ferrous (aluminum) casting for defense industries, using ceramic molds.
1944, part-time teaching, night class in ceramic design at the Institute of Design, Lázló Moholy-Nagy, Director.
1944, part-time teaching in the pot shop of Hull House, where the family lived.
1944, Becky, Eric and Brian move from Chicago to the Meadowridge farmhouse of Karl's parents (Unionville, Indiana). Karl returned later, date uncertain. (A photo dated October, 1944 shows Karl, Becky, Eric and Brian at Meadowridge.)
1945 (spring semester), Instructor in Fine Arts Department, Indiana University, where Karl taught for 32 years, advancing to the rank of Professor (see 1977).
1949, began design and construction of the Martz Studio in Brown County, Indiana.

Karl with pots
he made from
1934-1950.
Click on photo
for larger image. Karl & faculty
of the Department
of Fine Arts,
Indiana University,
early 1950's.
1952, Black Mountain College workshop. Two weeks with Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, Marguerite Wildenhain, and Soetsu Yanagi.
1952-53, Sabbatical in New York City. Studied drawing with Seong Moy for five months, and did independent study of Japanese brush drawing, Chinese Han Dynasty tomb tile impressed decoration, and color (Ostwald, Munsell, Birren, and others).
Left to right: George Rickey and his wife Edie, Becky and Karl Martz. Taken at the wedding of David Black, 1953. Photo by James E. Manning. Click on photo for larger version.
*1953, Iowa State Teacher's College Exhibition, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
1953, First Prize, Second Indiana Biennial Ceramic Exhibition, Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1953-54: Karl promoted from Instructor to "Assistant Professor of Fine Arts" at Indiana University. His salary for that academic year was $5,000 paid in ten installments. Letters in May and June, 1953, informing him of these changes were signed by Herman B. Wells, President.
1953, Maud Ainslie Craft Award, Louisville Art Center Annual Exhibition, Louisville, Kentucky.
Karl and Becky
at a gallery
in the 1950's.
*1954, Midwest Designer-Craftsmen Exhibit (by the members). Kalamazoo Art Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan and Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
*1954, Kirk-in-the-Hills Art Festival, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
1955, First Prize, Third Indiana Biennial Ceramic Exhibition, Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1955, Hadley Craft Award, Louisville Art Center Exhibition, Louisville, Kentucky.
1955, Juried Annual Ceramic Exhibition, South Bend Art Association, South Bend, Indiana.
1956, Juried National Scholastic Art Awards, Ceramics and Sculpture Section, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1956, Third Prize, Miami National Ceramic Exhibition, Miami Florida.
1957, First Prize, Fourth Indiana Biennial Ceramic Exhibition, Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.
1957, Award of Merit, Fiber-Clay-Metal Exhibition, St. Paul Gallery of Fine Arts, Minnesota.
1957, Ten-day visit to the Jugtown Pottery in Seagrove NC. Studied traditional Jugtown salt-glazed stoneware and made pots in this style. Accompanied by Harvey Littleton (see also 1962).
*1958, Fiber-Clay-Metal, USA. U.S. Information Agency Craft Exhibition, circulated in Europe. Selected by the Minnesota Museum of Art, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
*1958, Second Invitational Craft Exhibit, Louisville Art Center, Kentucky.
1958, Juried Fifth Annual Exhibit, Ceramic League of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Museum, Ohio.
1958, One-artist show at Richmond Art Association, Richmond, Indiana.
1959, First Prize and Putnam County Art League Purchase Award, DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
*1959, XXth International Ceramic Exhibit, Syracuse Museum, Syracuse NY. Seven European countries participated. Also shown in the Metropolitan Museum, NYC.
*1959, Ball State University Craft Exhibit, Muncie, Indiana.
*1960, Cultural Exchange Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution and throughout Europe. Assembled by the Design Division, American Ceramic Society. Sponsored in Europe by the Academie Internationale de la Ceramique, Paris, France.
*1960, The Fourth Invitational Craft Exhibition, Art Center Association of Louisville, Kentucky.
*1961, Four Potters, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1961, Juried Midwest Designer-Craftsmen Exhibition, Kalamazoo Institute of Art, Michigan.
1961, Second Prize and IBM Purchase Award, DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
1961, One-artist shows at University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska and Grace College, Warsaw, Indiana.
1962, A new Fine Arts Building opens at Indiana University, including a new facility for the teaching of ceramics, previously taught by Karl in the basement of Lindley Hall since 1945. [TB]
*1962, Clay Today, State Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City.
1962, American Art Clay Purchase Award, DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
1962, attended a summer glass-blowing workshop taught by Harvey Littleton and others. See also 1957.
1962, One-artist shows at Four Arts Gallery, Evanston, Illinois and Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana.
*1963, Ninth International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
*1963, First San Jose National Ceramic Exhibition, San Jose State College, California.
1963, Juried 17th Michigan Artist-Craftsman Exhibition, Detroit Institute of Art, Michigan.
1963, One-artist show at McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas.
1963, April-May: Exhibit of 112 works by Karl Martz and Yutaka Kondo, Contemporary Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana. Kondo taught ceramics at Indiana University during Karl's sabbatical. Yutaka Kondo was the son of Yuzo Kondo, who was a Living National Treasure of Japan. The Kondos taught ceramics at the Kyoto City College of Fine Arts, considered the foremost art school in Japan (according to the announcement of this exhibit in the Indianapolis Star).
1963, fall semester, Sabbatical, Kyoto, Japan. Studied materials, equipment and methods used by Mingei (folk art) potters; blue and white porcelain techniques with Yuzo Kondo. Visited pottery centers Onda, Koishiwara, Matsuyama (Tobe, Seriguchi), Tokushima (Otani), Imbe and Hinase (Bizen), Kurashiki, Tachikui (Tamba), Seto, Tajimi, Kanazawa (Kutani), and Mashiko. Five months.
*1964, International Ceramic Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan.
*1964, International Ceramic Exhibition, Tenmaya Department Store, Art Gallery, Okayama, Japan.
1964, IBM Purchase Award, DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
1964, Juried Washington Crafts Council Exhibition, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
1964, One-artist exhibit following sabbatical in Japan, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
1965, Award of Merit, Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Art and Science, Evansville, Indiana.
1965, Juried Toledo Art Council Exhibition, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio.
1965-66, President, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), of which Karl was a founding member.
1966, Juried Ceramic Arts -- USA -- 1966, International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, Skokie, Illinois. (Thirty pieces from this Exhibition were also shown at the Smithsonian Institution.)
1966, Art Center Award, DePauw Ceramic Show, DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
*1966, 25: A Tribute to Henry Radford Hope, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, Indiana.
*1967, Acquisitions, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, NYC.
*1967, Tri-State Invitational Crafts Exhibition, University of Cincinnati, Ohio.
*1967, Crafts -- 1967, National Invitational, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
*1968, Designer-Craftsmen V, Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
*1969, Twenty Five Years of Art in Clay -- USA, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
1969, Karl rented a ceramics studio in Port Chester, NY (for the summer?) where he made a number of pieces.

Karl Martz, Phil Gotanda,
and Totaro Sakuma ca. 1972.
*1971, Introspection / 71, North Central Regional Invitational, Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, Michigan.
1971-72, Sabbatical, Mashiko, Japan. Worked for five months in the studios of Hiroshi Seto and Totaro Sakuma.
1972, designated a Fellow of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).
1973, John Goodheart is hired full time by Indiana University as a second faculty member to teach ceramics. Previously, since 1945, Karl had been the sole ceramics faculty member, assisted by graduate Teaching Assistants. [TB] Goodheart retired in 2004.
1974, Honorable Mention, Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Art and Science, Evansville, Indiana.
*1974, Indiana fire, Moreau Gallery Three, Saint Mary's college, Notre Dame, Indiana.
*1974, Seven Potters, Connecticut College, New London.
*1974, Indiana Stoneware, Indianapolis Museum of Art.
*1975, Masters in Ceramic Art, Fairtree Gallery, New York, NY. Also shown in the Everson Museum, Syracuse NY, and at Alfred University, Alfred NY.
*1975, Emphasis on the Arts, Craft Invitational, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
1975, Bingham Professor of Humanities, University of Louisville, spring semester. Taught Glaze Composition and History of Ceramics.
*1976, Bicentennial Craft Invitational, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, Indiana.
1977, retired from teaching at Indiana University. The retrospective exhibit and catalog included over 200 pieces spanning 45 years. [TB]
Karl and Becky in 1979. Photo by Mazelle van Buskirk.
1978, Kohler Arts Center workshop, Sheboygan and Kohler, Wisconsin. Two weeks learning fine points of mold making and slip casting.
*1980, Opening Exhibition, Greenwood Gallery, Washington DC.
*1980, Tri-State Invitational, Vincennes University, Vincennes, Indiana.
*1982, Continuity and Change: Three Generations of American Potters, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, Pennsylvania.
*1986, Indiana Clay, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana.
1988, Distinguished Hoosier Award presented by Governor Robert D. Orr of Indiana, following a Retrospective Exhibition at the Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis.
1990, Indiana Ceramic Invitational. Master Potters/Master Teachers: Tom & Ginny Marsh, Karl Martz. April 9-26, Leeds Gallery, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. This exhibit included 23 works by Karl Martz.
1991, Fellow of the American Craft Council, awarded June at the American Craft Museum in New York City.
May 27, 1997, Karl's life ends. A Celebration of the Life of Karl Martz, attended by over 100 people, was held at the Fine Arts Auditorium at Indiana University in the summer of 1997. Obituary.

Posthumous Recognition:
1997: The School of Fine Arts Library at Indiana University displayed a Karl Martz Memorial Exhibition coinciding with his memorial celebration.
2001, this website was started by Karl's son Eric.
2001-2007: About one Karl Martz piece per month, on average, was auctioned on eBay.
2004: The exhibit Common Clay at the Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, featured Karl's life and work prominently. Timed to coincide with the 2004 national conference of NCECA held in March.
2004: An exhibit about Karl's life and work was displayed in the Spring at the School of Fine Arts Library, Indiana University, also to coincide with the NCECA Conference (see previous item).
2007: Some of Karl's work was included in Stardust Memories: Fifty Years at Indiana University Bloomington, an exhibit at the Huff Gallery of Spalding University, Louisville KY, coinciding with the national conference of NCECA.
2007: Work of Karl's was exhibited at the Black Mountain College Museum (Asheville NC) in "Breaking New Ground: The Studio Potter + Black Mountain College", Sept. 21, 2007 - Jan. 30, 2008. This exhibit commemorated the 1952 ceramics workshop held at the College, led by Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach, among other notables.
2008: A new, permanent exhibition of ceramics at the Midwest Museum of American Art (Elkhart, Indiana US) includes over a dozen works by Karl (spanning 1931-1980's) and several by Becky Brown, thanks to the energetic collecting and generosity of Douglas and Barbara Grant. This display includes:
- Blue bowl with black geometric design, Karl Martz, 1933.
- Red earthenware vase, unglazed, with black caricatures of the potter at work, Karl Martz/Brown County Pottery, 1935.
- Low glazed bowl with brown drip design, Karl Martz/Brown County Pottery, 1935.
- Blue-green vase, Karl Martz, 1941.
- Black teapot, Karl Martz, 1989.
2008: American Studio Ceramics: A Survey of the Collection at Ball State University (Muncie IN USA) included several pieces by Karl Martz (May 16 - Sept. 28).
2009: Modern and Contemporary Craft from the IU Art Museum: Recent Acquisitions, September 26-December 13, 2009 at the Indiana University Art Museum includes a piece by Karl Martz.
2009: Book Clay Times Three is published. The author, Kathy M. McKimmie, does a wonderful job of weaving the lives of Karl and Becky into a well-documented, coherent and engaging story. Her careful research and thorough documentation are outstanding. The 38 pages concerning Karl Martz and Becky Brown represent their first published biography. The book includes eight photos of Karl, three of his studios, and photos of over 35 of his pots, most in color. In 2019, it is available as an ebook via Indiana University Press.
2019: Karl Martz and the Legacy of Indiana University Ceramics, an exhibit at the Haan Mansion Museum, Lafayette, Indiana, USA. May 4 -- July 27. This exhibit was described in an illustrated article by Kathy McKimmie in the

* Invitational Exhibitions