Stan Bitters
Stan Bitters was born in 1936 in Fresno, California to Henry Bitter and Lydia Weber. After graduating from Fresno High School, he pursued a degree in art and attended San Diego State, where he became roommates with John Bladesarri. Later on he transferred to Otis College, and finally to UCLA where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Painting. In 1958, immediately after college, he worked at Hans Sumpf Company in Madera, California. The Hans Sumpf Company was known for inventing a special emulsification process for water-proofing adobe bricks. While its core business was in manufacturing adobe bricks, the company wanted an in-house ceramics studio. Stan became their first artist.
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Download Tearsheet The work he created at Hans Sumpf—such as the birdhouse, thumb pot, ceramic mural, and other ceramic designs—would provide the company with a stylistic imprint that would carry the company’s identity forward decades later. In 1963, he left Hans Sumpf and started his own studio after being commissioned by Garret Eckbo to build fountains for the Fulton Mall. From there, he was commissioned to create murals and outdoor sculptures for Duncan Ceramics, Guaranty Bank, and other companies.
Today his work is more relevant than ever. Recent commissions for the West Field Mall in Santa Monica, California and the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn, New York, not to mention the hundreds of murals and sculptures in private collections in California and even as far as Paris and Berlin speak to this. In 2024, his sculptures were shown in the Venice Biennale. Through it all, Stan has always stayed rooted in Fresno.
Today his work is more relevant than ever. Recent commissions for the West Field Mall in Santa Monica, California and the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn, New York, not to mention the hundreds of murals and sculptures in private collections in California and even as far as Paris and Berlin speak to this. In 2024, his sculptures were shown in the Venice Biennale. Through it all, Stan has always stayed rooted in Fresno.
