Robert John Sipchen

Robert Sipchen (b.1989 Los Angeles, California) has a background in architecture and design and is a self taught ceramicist. His obsession for the immediacy and raw beauty of clay forms led to a three year intensive regimen of wheel throwing and building in studio every day. The work Robert produces under the studio name Ground Office are experimental pieces that aim to push just outside the line of practical stoneware. His vessels have profusions of spikes and spouts at inconvenient angles that are often coated in tainted glazes in an effort to resist easy handling and pouring. Robert is fascinated by grotesque and rough objects and considers his work most successful when it is nearly too painful to hold. 

Robert holds a Masters of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he was awarded the Merit Award for his graduation thesis project. Most recently Robert has been invited to show his ceramics at the Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles.