Contact: Dan Adkins

Tuska became a ceramic artist in the 1940s after studying at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. In 1960, he became assistant professor of art at Murray State University, and moved to UK in 1963. He was recognized as the region’s authority on the art of clay and ceramics, inspiring a new generation of artists and teachers.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2004) -- Letters, notes and other materials from the career of Lexington artist John Tuska will be dedicated as part of the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 26, in the Recital Hall of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts.

The dedication coincides with a retrospective exhibit of Tuska’s work at the Headley-Whitney Museum on Old Frankfort Pike, as well as an ongoing exhibit of 32 pieces by Tuska at the UK Art Museum.

Speaking at the dedication will be Val Cushing, a ceramics artist from Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. Cushing was a colleague and professor of Tuska.

Tuska became a ceramic artist in the 1940s after studying at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. In 1960, he became assistant professor of art at Murray State University, and moved to UK in 1963. He was recognized as the region’s authority on the art of clay and ceramics, inspiring a new generation of artists and teachers.

He left UK in 1969 for a year in Rome, Italy, where he became interested in bronze as an artistic medium, along with a fascination with the movement of the human form. He returned to UK in 1970 and remained here until his retirement in 1994.

The collection being donated to the UK Libraries Special Collections is comprised of 88 boxes of notebooks, correspondence and other materials.