Tip Toland (born May 9, 1950) is an American ceramic artist and teacher who was born in

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...

. She earned a BFA in Ceramics from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and an MFA in Ceramics from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

. Her works, which are figurative and often described as "hyper-real," are held by galleries and museums around the United States. Toland's early works were wall reliefs in wood, clay and pigment. Her more recent three-dimensional stoneware sculptures are close to life size, sometimes larger. She uses paint, encaustic technique and hair to create figures with ''"''uncanny skin quality, utterly convincing hand gestures and eerily spontaneous facial expressions."

Career

In 1984 Toland moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. Her various teaching positions have included

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

, and

; she has taught workshops around the U.S. and abroad. Toland's 2014 exhibit titled "The Persecution of People with Albinism in Tanzania" at the

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...

included sculptures of children and teens with albinism, drawing attention to prejudice and other dangers faced by those with albinism in some East African countries. In 2016, she was the Frances Niederer Artist-in-Residence at

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

's Eleanor D. Wilson Museum. Tip Toland is currently represented by the Traver Gallery in Seattle.

Selected exhibitions

Group exhibitions

* 2013-2014: ''Body & Soul: New International Ceramics'',

Museum of Arts & Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, NY

Solo exhibitions

* 2007: Pacini Lubel Gallery * 2008 - 2009: ''Melt: The Figure in Clay'',

Bellevue Arts Museum The Bellevue Arts Museum is a museum of contemporary visual art, craft, and design located in Bellevue, Washington, part of the greater Seattle metropolitan area. A nonprofit organization established in 1975, the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) provide ...

, Bellevue, WA (catalog) * 2014: ''Apex: Tip Toland'',

, Portland, OR.

Collections

Works by Toland are held by galleries and museums including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(NY), the

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

(NY),

Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona was created in 2009 by the merger of two existing academic units, the Katherine K. Herberger College of the Arts and the College of Design. The Arizon ...

(Arizona State University),

Yellowstone Art Museum The Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown Billings, Montana is the largest contemporary art museum in Montana. History and mission of the museum The Yellowstone Art Center (now the Yellowstone Art Museum, or YAM) opened in October 1964 in the former ...

(Billings, MT),

Daum Museum of Contemporary Art State Fair Community College is a public community college in Sedalia, Missouri, adjacent to the Missouri State Fairgrounds. In addition to the Sedalia campus, there are extended campus locations in Boonville, Lake of the Ozarks, Clinton, Wars ...

(Sedalia, MO), and the Archie Bray Foundation (Helena, MT).

Awards

Toland received a Visual Arts Fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

in 1986. She also received a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award in 2004 and a fellowship from Washington State's

Artist Trust Artist Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting Washington artists working in all creative disciplines. Artist Trust provides artists the time and resources necessary to prosper. Since 1987 it has invested over ten million dol ...

in 2007. In 2014, she was awarded a United States Artist Fellowship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toland, Tip 1950 births Living people American ceramists Montana State University alumni University of Colorado alumni