Artist's Statement

My choosing to be a potter in the late 1960’s was less about being an artist or seeking self-expression than about dealing with the social and political turmoil of that period. Making pottery was the first endeavor in my life where I could clearly see myself as an integrated person, physically, mentally, and creatively. The sheer magic of clay and learning to transform it on the potters’ wheel sustained me for a number of years.

At some point, I realized that it was more than simply making objects for people to buy and being able to continue the cycle of making and selling. There is a power that is conveyed through a beautiful, useful object between the maker and the user, that was what I was searching for. The idea that the acts of cooking, serving, and eating food are some of the last real rituals left in the modern age, further clarified for me the “why” of hand-making useful pottery.

I am uninterested in sentimentality with regards to pottery. My pots must offer something to the world I live in.

I became convinced that narrowing my choices was essential to growing as an artist. I began to look at subtlety and nuance as the foundation for my aesthetic. The essence that I am seeking in this aesthetic is a stripped, almost brutal, rawness.

Ash glazes became the essential focus in integrating form and surface in my work. I use a fairly limited number of glaze recipes, applying slips for variability of surface texture and color. By design, these variations often are not visible at first glance but later reveal additional layers to the eye.

My forms 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 often intentionally rough or crude to aid in this definition. I use asymmetrical elements in the forms to impart vitality and retain that sense of plasticity in the fired work.
I avoid formal and elaborate composition as I gravitate towards a quiet and subtle simplicity in the pots that I make.

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

Robert Briscoe

Current Work

Wood ash glazed stoneware pottery.

Work Generally Available from:
AKAR, Iowa City, IA
Freehand Gallery, LosAngeles, CA
The Grand Hand, St Paul, MN
Hanson Gallery, Knoxville,TN
LaCoste Gallery, Concord, MA
Lemieux Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
Red Star Studio Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Terra Incognito Gallery, Chicago, IL
Rochester Art Center, Rochester MN
ivertson Gallery, Duluth, MN
Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE

Technical Information

Gas reduction kilns Approximately 2400 degrees F.Ash based glazes applied over coloured and crackle slips.

Exhibition History

“Pots With Purpose” LaCoste Gallery, Concord, MA
“Wild Geese” Irish National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, IRE
“Yunomi Invitational” Akar Gallery, Iowa City, IA
“American Masters” Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
“Recent Ceramics” Robert Briscoe, AKAR, Iowa City, IA
“Functional Connections” LaCoste Gallery. Concord, MA
“American Pottery Festival” Northern Clay, Minneapolis,MN
“New York Tea Party” Dai Ichi Gallery, New York City, NY
“Behold the Mug” Sivertson Gallery, Duluth, MN
“Centering-Clay in the Midwest” Free Hand Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
“Functional Ceramics Invitational” Alfred University, Alfred, NY
“Twenty Five Choose Twenty Five” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
“A Glimpse of the Invisible” NCECA2000 Denver, CO
“Demarest” Karen Karnes, Annual Pottery Invitational, Demarest, NJ
“Ten Year Retrospective Alumni Exhibit” Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis
“Functional Pots” Show of Hands, Denver, CO
“American Pottery Invitational” Meiko Seito Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“La Mesa” SantaFe Clay, Santa Fe, MN
“Robert Briscoe - Utilitarian Pots” Rochester Art Center, Rochester MN
“Annual Cup Show” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Robert Briscoe” St. Benedict’s College, St. Joseph, MN
“Fifty Years of American Craft" MN Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
“Pots” 414 Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI
“Confluence: The Mackenzie Influence” Continental Clay, Minneapolis, MN
“Robert Briscoe/Matthew Metz” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Clay National" Penn State University, State College, PA
“Response” Sarah Thomas Connection, Minneapolis, MN
“Not Just Another Pretty Vase” Ariana Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
“Cup Invitational” Artworks Gallery, Seattle, WA
"Domesticware" Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
"Warren Mackenzie and Friends" Bluffton and Columbus, OH
"Monarch Tile National" San Angelo Museum, San Angelo, TX
"Strictly Functional Pottery National" Market House Crafts Center, Lancaster, PA
“Smorgasbord”, Edina Art Center, Edina, MN
"Uncommon Ground" Northern Clay Center Gallery, St. Paul, MN
"Invitational" McNider Museum, Mason City, IA
"Table Trimmings" Crain/Wolov Gallery, Tulsa, OK
"Minnesota Potters" Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Crafts National" Penn State University, State College, PA
"Contemporary Crafts" International Design Center, Minneapolis, MN
"Eight from Minnesota" Edina Art Center, Edina, MN
"Clay Containers" Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
"Dinner at Six" Craft Company #6, Rochester, NY and
"American Details", Coconut Grove, FL
"St. Olaf's Ceramics Invitational" Northfield, MN
"Fourth Annual Dinnerware Show" Signature Shop Gallery, Atlanta

Selected Awards

McKnight Foundation Fellowships 2001, 2006
American Craft Expo, Evanston, IL – Founders Award
Craft Boston, Boston, MA – First Place - Ceramics
The Washington Craft Show, Washington DC - Collectors Award
Clay National - Penn State University, State College, PA - Award of Excellence
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO –Third Place
Des Moines Arts Festival -- Award of Excellence
Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL – Second Place
Winter Park Festival of Art - Winter Park, FL - First Place, Ceramics
Uptown Art Fair - Minneapolis, MN - Best of Show
East Central Arts Council McKnight Fellowship
Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition - Second Place
Oconomowok Festival of Art - Oconomowok, WI - First Place
Great Gulf Coast Festival of Art - Pensacola, FL - First Place
Boca Raton Museum of Art Crocker Center - Third Place, Ceramics
American Artisan Festival - Nashville, TN - Award of Excellence
American Craft Expo - St. Paul, MN - Jerome Foundation Award
Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, Pensacola, FL – Award of Excellence

Collections

Fredrick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Minneapolis MN
Racine Art Museum, Racine WI
Margaret Harlow Collection, Bemidji State University, Bemidgi, MN
Minnesota State Historical Society Museum, St. Paul, MN
The Bindley Collection, Madison, WI

Teaching and Workshops

Red Star Studios, Kansas City MO
Workshops: 92nd Street Y, New York, NY
Irish National Craft Council, Pottery Skills Course, Thomastown, IRE
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton NJ
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek, WI
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
Kilns & Firing, Northern Clay Center, St. Paul, MN
“Altered Forms” Orlando, FL
American Pottery Festival, Minneapolis Mn.
Hinckley Pottery Workshop, Washington DC
University of Wisconsin, Superior, WI
Cambridge Potters Guild, Cambridge WI
Macalaster College, St. Paul, MN
Lill Street Gallery Studios, Chicago, IL
Edina Art Center, Edina, MN
University of Wisconsin, River Falls, WI
Art Center of Minnesota, Wayzata, MN
St. Olaf's College, Northfield, MN
McNider Museum, Mason City, IA
Florida International University, Miami Fl.
“Warren McKenzie and Friends” NCECA, Continental Clay, Minneapolis, MN
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
"10 Points of View" Northern Clay Center, St. Paul, MN
“Ash Glazes” Northern Clay Center, St. Paul, MN
Duluth Art Center, Duluth MN
Roswell Art Center, Roswell, GA
Wichita State University, “Clay Nation”, Wichita, KS

Education Apprenticeships

Graduate, Kansas State University, BS Economics
James Vandergriff, Zarah, KS
Wynne Studios, Colorado Springs, CO
The Gallery Studio, Fort Collins, CO