Former curator Peter Flagg of the Crocker Art Museum describes Paul Stein’s ceramic works as a fascinating mixture of Eastern sensibilities and California flair.

The ceramic vessels of Paul Stein closely parallel the effects of ceramics from the Chinese Song and Ming dynasties with with their emphasis on perfection of color and form and in the translucency of their thin bodies, Flagg says.  Most of the forms of Stein’s porcelain vessels recall no specific shapes in the canon of Chinese ceramics, but rather appear to be loosely based on them.  Similarly, his glazes — composed of brilliant rich or understated tones — have no exact equivalent in Chinese porcelain.