The Mark Gordon Company, Inc.

What The Mark Gordon Company, Inc. does

The Mark Gordon Company, Inc. is the personal artistic practice of ceramic artist Mark Gordon, operating from a studio at 808 Woodard Street in Wilson, North Carolina near Barton College. The practice produces handcrafted fine art including wheelthrown vessels and bonsai pots (burnished and saggar-fired), modular assembled clay sculptures (collision pieces, tiles), mixed-media site-specific installations incorporating clay, glass, wood, metal, and found materials, and metal sculptures in cast iron, aluminum, copper, brass, and steel produced at facilities including Kohler Co. The underlying technology is entirely traditional craft — wheelthrowing, burnishing, saggar-firing, coil building, slab construction, and metal casting — with no software, platform, or digital product layer.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: (1) gallery-mediated and direct studio sales of artwork to collectors, museums, and institutions; (2) a recurring academic salary as Associate Professor in Barton College's School of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts, a position held since 1999; and (3) professional services income from international teaching, lectures, and Fulbright Scholar engagements. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and there is no e-commerce; distribution occurs through gallery and art-center exhibitions (Artspace, Claymakers, Harper College, University Mall Chapel Hill, and others), institutional placements (Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo), and direct studio inquiries from a Wilson, NC base. Customers are primarily Museums/Art Institutions and Colleges/Universities, with a secondary segment of individual art collectors.

The practice is supported by a unique content library of photographic and experiential documentation of traditional pottery across 21 countries in the Mediterranean, South America, and the Caribbean, plus long-running relationships with Barton College (since 1999) and the Altos de Chavon pottery training center in the Dominican Republic (since 1980-81). Brand recognition is anchored by placements in American Ceramics, Ceramics Monthly, The New York Times, American Craft, Clay Times, Revista Internacional Ceramica (Spain), and Ceramics: Art and Perception. The entity operates as a sole proprietorship-style artistic practice with no institutional investment, no employees beyond Mark Gordon, and no disclosed financial scale.

Name

The Mark Gordon Company, Inc.

Legal name

Mark Gordon

Website

https://markgordon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Solo fine art practice of ceramic artist Mark Gordon, producing wheelthrown vessels, bonsai pots, modular clay sculptures, metal sculptures, and mixed-media installations while serving as Associate Professor at Barton College, with works placed in museums and galleries domestically and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales: Sale of ceramic vessels, sculptures, and metal artworks through exhibitions, galleries, and direct studio sales to collectors, museums, and institutions
2. Academic Position: Salary from position as Associate Professor at Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina
3. Teaching and Lectures: Fulbright Scholar teaching in Argentina and lecturing at international institutions including Caracas, Cairo, Damascus, Madrid, Jerusalem, Buenos Aires, Valencia, and Santo Domingo

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Mark Gordon Company, Inc. is the personal artistic practice of ceramicist and sculptor Mark Gordon, producing handcrafted wheelthrown vessels and bonsai pots, modular assembled clay sculptures (tiles, collision pieces), mixed-media site-specific installations, and metal sculptures in cast iron, aluminum, copper, and steel. Offerings are exhibited through solo and group shows at U.S. and international museums, art centers, galleries, and universities, with works held in permanent institutional collections. The practice is supported by an Associate Professorship at Barton College and recurring international lectures and workshops.

Product overview

The Mark Gordon Company, Inc. represents the creative practice of ceramic artist Mark Gordon. The portfolio consists of handcrafted artworks including wheelthrown vessels and bonsai pots, modular assembled clay sculptures (collision pieces, tiles), mixed-media site-specific installations, and metal sculptures in cast iron and other materials. The offering is a unified artistic practice rather than a platform or product suite, with works exhibited in national and international museums and art centers. Documentation of international travels documenting traditional pottery traditions across the Mediterranean, South America, and the Caribbean forms an educational component of the practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wheelthrown Ceramic Vessels Handcrafted wheelthrown ceramic vessels finished with traditional burnishing and saggar-firing techniques; offered for acquisition by art collectors, museums, and institutions.
• Bonsai Pots Specialized wheelthrown ceramic containers designed for bonsai cultivation, produced using traditional throwing methods.
• Vessels With Additions Wheelthrown vessels augmented with additional sculptural elements or decorative additions.
• Clay Sculptures (Assembled Works, Tiles, Collision Pieces) Modular assembled clay sculptures built from multiple ceramic components, including sculptural tiles and collision-themed works, sold to collectors and institutions.
• Sculpture Installations Site-specific mixed-media installations combining clay with other materials such as glass, wood, chain, and metal.
• Metal Sculptures Sculptural works created in cast iron, aluminum, copper, brass, and steel, including pieces produced at industrial foundry facilities such as Kohler Co.
• Academic Teaching at Barton College Associate Professor role at Barton College in the School of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts delivering ceramics and sculpture coursework since 1999.

Quantifiable outcome

• Works held in permanent collection of Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Barton CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term academic partnership since 1999 where Mark Gordon serves as Associate Professor in the School of Visual, Performing, and Communication Arts. Provides teaching, exhibition opportunities, and studio space access.
• Kohler Co.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMetal casting facility where Mark Gordon created sculptures including Alligator Sprue (1992) and other cast iron and aluminum works. Facilities used for professional art production.
• Altos de ChavoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPottery training center in Dominican Republic where Mark Gordon designed the workshop building in 1980-81 with architects Lebron, engineer Castro, and designer Coppa. Ongoing relationship involving workshops, exhibitions, and cultural programs from 1980-2016 and beyond.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Tony Cragg: British sculptor exhibiting internationally with museum permanent collections, working across cast metal and mixed-media sculptural forms. Comparable as a tier-1 international sculptor whose material practice includes cast metal sculpture analogous to Gordon's iron, aluminum, copper, and brass works.
• Dale Chihuly: American sculptor working in blown glass and large-scale installation, shown in museums worldwide. Comparable as an artist operating at the intersection of craft technique and fine-art exhibitions, though in glass rather than ceramics.

Others

• Anderson Ranch Arts Center: Colorado-based arts residency and education center offering ceramics residencies, workshops, and exhibitions. Comparable as an enabling institution in the same ceramic arts ecosystem that produces, exhibits, and distributes work from working ceramic artists.
• Archie Bray Foundation: Long-running ceramics-focused residency and exhibition program for working artists in Helena, Montana. Comparable as a parallel institution operating at the intersection of ceramic production, exhibitions, and craft education.

Direct peers

• Grayson Perry: British studio ceramicist exhibiting internationally, working across vessels, sculpture, and installation with institutional acquisitions and shows at major art centers - directly comparable positioning to Mark Gordon's gallery and museum exhibition profile.
• Edmund de Waal: British ceramic artist and author known for thrown vessels with international gallery representation and museum collections. Closely comparable to Mark Gordon in working from wheelthrown vessels outward into installation-scale practice with a literary and travel-documented practice.
• Jun Kaneko: Japanese-American ceramic sculptor with a longstanding studio practice producing large-scale hand-built and wheelthrown works shown in national and international museums, comparable to Mark Gordon's mix of traditional ceramic technique and contemporary sculptural ambition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Mark Gordon Company, Inc.