Joel Otterson’s History of Rock n’ Roll Dinnerware marks one of the artist’s most significant series of the 1990s. Considering his dual engagement with suburban American fancy – kitsch, to some – and the enduring if complicated legacy of ‘60s and ‘70s rock music (by then reckoning with the early stages of unhipness), Otterson immortalizes the era’s brightest stars and triumphant bands on porcelain platters, serving trays, and plates.

While many of the original 82 works in the series were exhibited, including in the 1993 Mettlesome and Meddlesome: Selections from the Collection of Robert J. Shiffler at The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, USA, others were given as gifts to friends and colleagues. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, for example, was never returned after the artist used it to bring cookies to a dinner party.

Cast in porcelain from various existing objects – a 1950s American metal serving tray, Staffordshire pottery, French dinnerware – Otterson’s works reincarnate those classic forms, becoming effigies to the artist’s musical and cultural heroes. The works in this presentation are the last remaining examples of the series, in the artist’s possession for over thirty years. They constitute an important cornerstone in Otterson’s ongoing investigations of high and low culture, American class and identity, and the reflexive relationship between the domestic and the fine art object.

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Otterson received his BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York in 1982. Previous exhibitions include The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (PROJECT series, 1987); the Venice Biennale (1993); the Hammer Museum (Made in L.A., 2012) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (2014 Whitney Biennial). Otterson’s work is included in numerous permanent collections such as Cincinnati Art Museum, The Broad Foundation and the Hammer Museum.



Installation view. The History of Rock-N-Roll Dinnerware, 1991 - 1993 by Joel Otterson for Onsen Confidential, 2024.


Installation view. The History of Rock-N-Roll Dinnerware, 1991 - 1993 by Joel Otterson for Onsen Confidential, 2024.


Installation view. The History of Rock-N-Roll Dinnerware, 1991 - 1993 by Joel Otterson for Onsen Confidential, 2024.


Installation view. The History of Rock-N-Roll Dinnerware, 1991 - 1993 by Joel Otterson for Onsen Confidential, 2024.


Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate (Ace Frehley), 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate (Ace Frehley), 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate (Paul Stanley), 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, KISS Dessert Plate (Paul Stanley), 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 8 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 1 in. (21.6 x 23.5 x 2.5 cm).


Installation view. The History of Rock-N-Roll Dinnerware, 1991 - 1993 by Joel Otterson for Onsen Confidential, 2024.


Joel Otterson, T. Rex Serving Platter, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 20 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (51 x 37 x 3 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, T. Rex Serving Platter, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 20 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (51 x 37 x 3 cm).


Joel Otterson, Lou Reed Serving Platter, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 20 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (51 x 37 x 3 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, Lou Reed Serving Platter, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 20 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (51 x 37 x 3 cm).


Detail. Joel Otterson, Lou Reed Serving Platter, 1993. Hand glazed porcelain, 20 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (51 x 37 x 3 cm).

Photos: Fuyumi Murata