Vessels by Kay + June

Artist list

Kay Sekimachi and June Schwarcz

Well known for her enameled copper vessels, 96 year old June Schwarcz studied industrial design before experimenting with metal fabrication techniques and surface treatments, such as electroforming, etching and engraving. Her abstract forms are renowned for their rich textured surfaces, built from multiple layers of transparent enamels that vary in color and opacity. Organic in shape and composition, Schwarcz’s innovative pieces can be found in the collections of the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Smithsonian Museum’s Renwick Gallery in Washington DC and the Museum of Applied Arts in Zurich, among others. A California native, Schwarcz lives in an art-filled home in Sausalito and continues to make work nearly every day.

Kay Sekimachi constructs three dimensional woven forms and fabricated paper vessels that explore ideas of space, transparency, and movement. Utilizing labor intensive processes and techniques, the artist creates serene and elegant functional and nonfunctional objects using both natural and man-made materials. Elements such as bark, paper, twine, coral and shell are transformed into intricate vessel forms, suspended pieces, and sculptural jewelry, inspired by the artist’s ancestral homeland of Japan. Born in 1926 in San Francisco, Sekimachi studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland from 1946 to 1949. Today, at 87 years old, Sekimachi is recognized as a pioneer of the craft field, celebrated for her inventive explorations in fiber. She presently lives, works, and maintains an active studio in Berkeley, CA.