Born in 1929, Don Reitz is recognized as one of the most important and influential ceramic artists of this century. Trained at Alfred University in the early 1960s, Reitz has pursued a life-long investigation of salt- and wood-firing of his ceramic pieces in order to preserve the energy and freshness of his artistic marks and gestures. Finding that the texture and unpredictability of salt-firing suited his work, Reitz almost single-handedly revived this neglected technique, and through long experimentation developed a range of colors and surface effects previously unknown in salt-firing. Juggling and manipulating the variables in each firing, Reitz is a virtuoso who relishes knowing what he can control and what he cannot, and his work maintains a fine balance between technical mastery and improvisation. Affectionately known within the ceramics community as “Mr. Salt,” his approach to firing has been widely influential.
    More recently, Reitz has pursued wood-firing with the same passion he once reserved for salt, traveling around the country to fire his work in kilns that offer the particular effects he seeks. While his wood-fired surfaces can be complex and dense, with aggressive drips of glaze and texture, Reitz’s mature vessels demonstrate power, serenity, and balance. His work is currently featured in the collections of institutions such as The Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the American Craft Museum, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, the High Museum of Art, in addition to the collections of many private individuals. In 2002 he received one of the highest honors in his field, when the American Craft Council awarded him their Gold Medal.