Schlitz Box

The wit & rigor of Spinski’s trompe l’oeil work gives it a particularly compelling vitality, the artist seemingly having been able to alchemise his clay into any material or form. Often, as here with 'Schlitz Box’, there’s utilitarian purpose laid bare, and in his life Spinski referred to his practice as an inversion of the chinese Yixing philosophy where unusual materials were often used to create harmonious and resolved teapots or other ceramic work. Spinski drew objects that speak of a hurried or imaginatively chaotic lifestyle, but in focus and attention to detail (a collection of dust in the folds of the cap, a faded signature upon a baseball) compose a meditative weight.