Contemporary Expressionist Studio Ceramic Figurative Sculpture

This powerful, emotionally resonant studio ceramic sculpture is an exceptional example of contemporary figurative expressionism. Visually attributed to the acclaimed Norwegian-American artist Anki King, the hand-built stoneware piece captures a visceral sense of vulnerability and psychological tension. The lower portion of the sculpture features a heavily textured, charcoal-black crouched human figure, bent completely forward in a protective or pained posture. Hidden within the hollowed underbelly of the form is a raw, meticulously sculpted human face frozen in an agonizing grimace, which directly contrasts with a small, perfectly smooth, vibrant red glazed heart suspended from a wire underneath the figure's arched back.

Erupting from the figure's spine is a dense, dramatic thicket of elongated, conical spikes hand-formed from unglazed, warm terra-cotta clay. These dramatic quills morph from the rough, slag-like texture of the dark base into elegant, razor-sharp pinnacles that pierce upward, creating a brilliant compositional and narrative contrast between internal emotional defense mechanisms and external sharpness.

Item Details

• Artist / Attribution: Attributed to Anki King (Unsigned)
• Material: Hand-Built Terracotta and Stoneware Clay with Metal Wire Accessory
• Finish: Mixed textures featuring unglazed natural red clay body, heavily stippled dark matte slips, and a localized high-gloss red glaze on the central heart element.
• Height: 18 inches
• Width: 12 inches

Artist Biography

Born in Norway in 1970, Anki King is a highly regarded contemporary painter and sculptor based in New York. She completed her foundational classical arts education at the Oslo Drawing and Painting School in Norway (1993–1994) before immigrating to the United States to continue her artistic evolution. Settling in New York City, she studied extensively at the historic Art Students League of New York from 1994 to 1998, a period that deeply anchored her practices in the study of human anatomy, structural scale, and raw emotional projection.

While internationally recognized for her monumental oil paintings, King has increasingly garnered critical praise for her three-dimensional studio ceramic sculptures. Her artwork continuously circles the complexities of the human condition, stripping her subjects of specific biographical context or identity to serve as universal vessels for internal psychological states. Her sculptures—frequently utilizing an evocative, restricted palette of bone, ash, raw clay, and isolated sparks of crimson color—powerfully balance ideas of isolation, physical weight, connection, and self-containment. King’s highly unique ceramic works, such as her acclaimed "Spiked" and "Kneeler" structural series, utilize natural textures and body distortions to explore the delicate relationship between humanity and its protective defense systems. King exhibits her art extensively across galleries and museums in the United States and Europe, including solo exhibitions at The Lace Mill in New York, and her work is featured across major contemporary art collections internationally.

As pictured. Small imperfections in pottery, in firing process and in glaze are possible. See all detailed photographs for complete condition report. Any major cracks or repairs will be noted in the auction description.