Ron Nagle

Waiting for Jumbot is part of Nagle’s ongoing Thin Fins series of ceramic scenes, developed between 1998 and 2002 and from 2007 to the present. Here a red cube-like form is placed a pinkish-gray stage-like setting that also resembles the ledge of a mountain. The work’s title and the cube’s isolation and the rough gray texture surrounding it suggest Samuel Beckett’s existentialist drama Waiting for Godot, as well as the famous 19th-century circus elephant, Jumbo.

Ron Nagle’s small-scale ceramic sculptures use complex, layered glazing techniques to create a range of surfaces-from smooth, liquid-like glosses to highly textured matte finishes. The process often involves firing each piece up to twenty times. Untitled, 1981, takes characteristic features of a cup (handle, lip, and foot, for

example) and alters them to the point of negating functionality. Waiting for Jumbot is from Nagle’s “weeorama” series, which evokes miniature tableaux or stage-sets. Its title refers to Samuel Beckett’s seminal play Waiting for Godot, imbuing the lone tiny red cube with a suggestive existential dimension. The title and matte gray glaze also evoke Jumbo, the famous 19th-century circus elephant, adding a note of humor.