Kreutz Keramik
KREUTZ KERAMIK
Kreutz was founded in 1958 by Helmut Kreutz in the village of Langenaubach in the central German state of Hesse. Its pieces are characterized by the use of red clay bodies covered with very thick and bubbly glazes in what are commonly referred to as "fat lava" genre of pottery. Kreutz often achieved the cratered, or volcanic surfaces with the addition of organic substances to the glaze that released oxygen during firing, or, alternatively, the use of silicon carbide and its release of carbon dioxide.
Determining the origin of a Kreutz vase can be a challenge as a good deal of the company's output was sold to other potteries—Montanus, Gerlach Keramik, and Marzi & Remy among them.
Kreutz Keramik used red clay exclusively. Kreutz branded vases usually had two paper stickers on them, the more prominent reading "Kreutz Keramik" and a secondary one, "Handarbeit" (translating as handmade).