Art: The Shape of Dishes to Come

To prove that beauty and utility can live together, the Everyday Art Gallery in Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center has exhibited everything from ice tongs to paring knives. Last week, it was dishes.

Fanciers of Wedgwood and Spode (or cheap imitations) stared coldly at the clean, uninhibited lines, the unadorned and self-sufficient surfaces of modern dinnerware by such topnotch U.S. designers as Eva Zeisel (Castleton China) and show-stopper Florence Forst. But to many Everyday Gallery visitors, one of the show’s designers was an old table and dishpan friend: Russel Wright, who has thrown pottery makers—always a conservative lot—into a dither with the massive success of his American Modern dinnerware since 1939.

Everyday exhibited seven pieces from Wright’s set. Its sturdiness won out against butter-fingered dishwashers; it was inexpensive — a 20-piece “starter set” sold for about $6; it “put away” compactly—cups could be piled on each other without tumbling over; the solid colors were interchangeable. Nearly fourteen million pieces have been sold since 1939, at the rate (since 1943) of $1.5 millions worth a year.

Something for the Housewife. Not on exhibition at Minneapolis, but already in production, is Wright’s first venture in mass-produced fine china. It is ruthlessly free from china’s historic fragility and flossiness. Says he: “China lovers are going to be scandalized at the use of the material.” Saucers and plates are fiat and thick, the rims slightly raised and rounded to cut down chipping. Grips depressed into the china eliminate most handles, require less table and shelf space.

Eating at home or in restaurants, comfort-loving, balding 40-year-old Russel Wright constantly watches his fellow diners gripping cups, mentally jots down shortcomings of conventional tableware. Back in his Manhattan studio, he designs clay models to eliminate the bugs. He has made 500 studies for cup handles alone. For his new set, he tried 35 shapes for cups, 60 different handles.

Says Wright: “All the enforced cooking and dishwashing I did during the war made me want to do something practical for the housewife. The 18th Century ‘is kept alive by Emily Post. I have no sympathy with the idea of keeping traditional design alive.”

Having designed everything from an aluminum evening wrap to a complete line of furniture, Wright is used to controversy over his ideas. Designer Wright puts his name on stuff he likes, remains anonymous when he is not too proud of it. The new china bears his name.