Warren MacKenzie

Who is Warren MacKenzie?

Warren MacKenzie is a North American craft potter. He grew up in Wilmette, Illinois the second oldest of five children including his brothers, Fred and Gordon and sisters, Marge and Marilyn. His high school days were spent at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

MacKenzie and his first wife, Alix, studied with Bernard Leach from 1949 to 1952. His simple, wheel-thrown functional pottery is heavily influenced by the oriental aesthetic of Shoji Hamada and Korean ceramics. He is credited with bringing the Japanese Mingei style of pottery to Minnesota, fondly referred to as the "Mingei-sota style."

MacKenzie has described his goal as the making of "everyday" pots. Accordingly, although his pots are found in major museums and command high prices among collectors, MacKenzie has always kept his prices low and for various time periods did not sign his work until recently resuming the use of his chop at the end of 2009. Most of his output is produced in stoneware, although he has worked in porcelain at times during his career.

MacKenzie is well known as a teacher. Since 1952 he taught at the University of Minnesota, where he is a Regents' professor emeritus. His students have included Randy Johnston, Mike Norman, Jeff Oestreich, Wayne Branum, Mark Pharis, Barbara Diduk, Paul Dresang, Shirley Johnson, Michael Brady, Sandy Simon, and E.A. Mikkelsen.