logo ThumbnailRobert Briscoe
ARTIST INFORMATIONCONTACT INFORMATION

Stoneware clay, ash glazes/functional pots.

I have worked as a studio potter since 1967.

All the pots that I produce have an intended purpose. I make pots to hold liquids, serve food, and display flowers. Usefulness is an inseparable element in the aesthetic in my pottery.

I avoid formal and elaborate composition and move towards a quiet and subtle simplicity in the pots that I make. The essence that I am seeking in this aesthetic is a stripped, almost brutal, rawness.

The forms which I use are spare, with large, simple areas, heavy textures, weighty bases, and substantial rims and attachments. I focus on the foot and the rim of a form as the defining elements. They are intentionally rough and crude to achieve this definition.

The techniques used in making these pots are again elementary. I throw all the pots on the wheel, then cut, paddle, and alter them into other forms. I use asymmetrical elements throughout to impart vitality and plasticity in the fired work.

I use ash glazes to integrate form and surface in my work. Slips and engobes beneath these ash glazes add depth, subtlety and nuance to complete the visual composition.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

  • “Functional Ceramics Invitational”, Alfred University, NY
  • “Robert Briscoe” - St. Benedict's College, St. Joseph, MN
  • “Confluence: The Mackenzie Influence”, Continental Clay Company, Minneapolis, MN
  • "Robert Briscoe/Matthew Metz", Lill Street Gallery, Chicago
  • “Clay National”, Penn State University
  • “Domesticware”, Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York
GALLERIES:
  • Lemieux Gallery, New Orleans, LA
  • Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
  • Northern Clay Center Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
  • Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO
  • Sarah Thomas Collection, Minneapolis, MN
SELECTED SHOWS:
  • The Smithsonian Craft Show
  • Coconut Grove Art Festival
  • The Philadelphia Craft Show
  • Ann Arbor Street Art Fair
  • Winter Park Festival of Art
  • Plaza Art Festival
  • Cherry Creek Art Festival

Harris, MN
Home: 651-674-4656
Work:
Fax: 651-674-4656
Email: rbstonwr@cpinternet.com
Web: www.mnartists.org/?loc_Name: =viewartistfeature&artistid=902
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WORK
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Image of work



"Noodle Bowl"

3.5"hx6"wx6"d. t
T hrown/altered stoneware, ash glazed over crackle slip, reduction fired to 2400 degrees F.
Image of work



"Cookie Jar"

Thrown/stoneware, ash glazed over finger-combed colored
slips. Reduction fired to 2400 degrees F.
Image of work



"Noodle Bowl"

Thrown/altered stoneware, ash glazed over colored
slip. Reduction fired to 2400 degrees F.
Image of work



"Dented Jar"

Thrown/stoneware, ash glazed over slip. Reduction
fired to 2400 degrees F.

Photography: Wayne Torborg

All images exhibited at this World Wide Web site are for public viewing only. No reproduction rights are granted, licensed or sanctioned in any form or manner and are hereby exclusively reserved by the artist.