Meet Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman

I'm endlessly fascinated by craftspeople who are dextrous in many mediums ... people whose work teeters on that fine line between the functionalism of design and the esoteric realm of fine art. And now thanks to my friend Bryan at Potteries of California, I am finally getting myself acquainted with a husband and wife team of midcentury Fine Craftspeople working in the Modernist genre that I hadn't heard of before. Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman produced their art and design across the boundaries of virtually every medium: painting, ceramics, mosaics, metalwork, tapestry, wood carvings, toys, and so much more. Their toolbox included a mind-bogglingly vast assortment of skills and techniques, that when added to their collective artistry and talent, produced a body of absolutely stunning wares. Should you be in or around San Diego, their work is being featured now through January 10th at the Mingei International Museum in a retrospective exhibition titled Masters of Mid-Century California Modernism. If you can't make it to the exhibition you should at least take some time to read through their new website, which does a great job of telling their story and showing their work. I see the area of Fine Craft fading far to the background of contemporary culture, which saddens me considerably. If more people were aware of artists such as the Ackermans, maybe the Fine Craft movement wouldn't slip away quite so quietly.

• 11.09.09