Howard Risatti is emeritus professor of contemporary art and critical theory in the Department of Art History at Virginia Commonwealth University where he was chair of the Department of Craft/Material Studies from 2001–2005. He is the author of five books: A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression (University of North Carolina Press, 2007); Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998), co-authored with Kenneth Trapp; The Mountain Lake Workshops: Artists in Locale (Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1996), which accompanied the exhibition he curated of the same title; Postmodern Perspectives: Issues in Contemporary Art (Prentice Hall, 1990); and New Music Vocabulary (University of Illinois Press, 1975). His work has appeared in Art Journal, Latin American Art, Woman’s Art Journal, The Studio Potter, Sculpture Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Korean Monthly Ceramic Art, Winterthur Portfolio, and Britain’s Crafts Magazine, among others. He has lectured at many conferences, including the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2003 Academic Symposium and “CRITICAL Santa Fe: Developing Criticism in Ceramics,” a conference organized by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.  

Photo by C.S. Risatti