Artist: Robert Briscoe
Robert Briscoe, MINNESOTA
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For over 40 years, I have essentially been a potter for the sheer, simple joy of making things with my own hands, struggling to bring ideas fully into form, watching the studio fill up with fresh pots. Each working cycle I try to renew that passion, found when I first touched clay.
I look to subtlety and nuance as the foundation for my aesthetic. The essence that I seek in this aesthetic is a stripped, almost brutal, rawness. I want my pots to engage people where they live, and to play a part in their savoring of life. It is important to me that my pots end up somewhere people are cooking and eating and sharing.
These are simple pots, with quiet but robust surfaces, made in a scale meant to convey generosity.
I am continually amazed by the sweetness of this life.
EDUCATION
Graduate, Kansas State University, BS Economics
Ceramic studies with Angelo Garzio
APPRENTICESHIPS
1970
The Gallery Studio, Fort Collins, CO
1969
Wynne Studios, Colorado Springs, CO
1967-1968
James Vandergriff, Zarah, KS
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2012
"The Cup" Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
"St. Croix Valley Potters Tour" Minnesota 1992-2012
"Sharing the Fire" Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
"Yunomi Invitational" AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2011
"Salt of the Earth" Trax Berkeley, CA
"Plate it Up" Mary Lous Zeel Gallery, Salem, OR
"Robert Briscoe and Karl Borgeson" AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
"Earthly Delights", Robert Briscoe and Geoff Wheeler, Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010
“Warren & Nancy MacKenzie and Five Midwest Potters” Gallery Gen, New York City
“Cup” National Invitational, Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS
"Cups” Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
2009
“Robert Briscoe” Ripple River Galley, Aitkin, MN
“Bridge 10” Contemporary Craft Society, Pittsburg, PA
2009-2010
“La Mesa” SantaFe Clay, Santa Fe, MN
2008
“Pots With Purpose” LaCoste Gallery, Concord, MA
“Warren MacKenzie and the Midwest Five” Gallery Gen, New York, NY
"American Masters” Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
"Behold the Mug” Sivertson Gallery, Duluth, MN
2007
“Wild Geese” Irish National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, IRE
“Recent Ceramics” Robert Briscoe, AKAR, Iowa City, IA
“American Pottery Festival” Northern Clay, Minneapolis, MN
“New York Tea Party” Dai Ichi Gallery, New York City, NY
2007-2010
“Yunomi Invitational” Akar Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2006
“Centering-Clay in the Midwest” Free Hand Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"Functional Connections” LaCoste Gallery. Concord, MA
2005
“Functional Ceramics Invitational” Alfred University, Alfred, NY
2005-2007
“La Mesa” SantaFe Clay, Santa Fe, MN
2004
“Twenty Five Choose Twenty Five” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003
“Robert Briscoe/Matthew Metz” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Functional Pots” Show of Hands, Denver, CO
2003-2004
“American Pottery Festival” Northern Clay, Minneapolis, MN
2002
“Ten Year Retrospective Alumni Exhibit” Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis
2000
“A Glimpse of the Invisible” NCECA, Denver, CO
“Robert Briscoe - Utilitarian Pots” Rochester Art Center, Rochester MN
“Annual Cup Show” Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Confluence: The Mackenzie Influence” Continental Clay, Minneapolis, MN
1999
"Strictly Functional Pottery National" Market House Crafts, Lancaster, PA
1998
“American Pottery Invitational” Meiko Seito Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Robert Briscoe” St. Benedict’s College, St. Joseph, MN
"Clay National" Penn State University, State College, PA
“Response” Sarah Thomas Connection, Minneapolis, MN
1997
"Monarch Tile National" San Angelo Museum, San Angelo, TX
1996
“Cup Invitational” Artworks Gallery, Seattle, WA
1995
"Warren Mackenzie and Friends" Bluffton and Columbus, OH
1993
"Dinner at Six" Craft Company #6, Rochester, NY and American Details, Coconut Grove,
FL
"St. Olaf's Ceramics Invitational" Northfield, MN
1992
"Domesticware" Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
"Minnesota Potters" Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Pots” 414 Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI
1992-2008
“Demarest” Karen Karnes, Annual Pottery Invitational, Demarest, NJ
1991
"Fourth Annual Dinnerware Show" Signature Shop Gallery, Atlanta
1987
“Uncommon Ground" Northern Clay Center Gallery, St. Paul, MN
"Invitational" McNider Museum, Mason City, IA
1986
"Table Trimmings" Crain/Wolov Gallery, Tulsa, OK
"Crafts National" Penn State University, State College, PA
"Contemporary Crafts" International Design Center, Minneapolis, MN
"Clay Containers" Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
SELECTED AWARDS
2008
American Craft Expo, Evanston, IL – Founders Award
Craft Boston, Boston, MA – First Place – Ceramics
2007
The Washington Craft Show, Washington DC - Collectors Award
McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, awarded through The Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Uptown Art Fair - Minneapolis, MN - Best of Show
2006
Des Moines Arts Festival -- Award of Excellence
2005
Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL – Second Place
Uptown Art Fair - Minneapolis, MN - Best of Show
East Central Arts Council McKnight Fellowship
Winter Park Festival of Art - Winter Park, FL - First Place
2003
Winter Park Festival of Art - Winter Park, FL - First Place
1996-2003
Uptown Art Fair - Minneapolis, MN - Best of Show
2002
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO –Third Place
2001
McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists, awarded through The Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Winter Park Festival of Art - Winter Park, FL - First Place
2000
Winter Park Festival of Art - Winter Park, FL - First Place
Clay National - Penn State U., State College, PA - Award of Excellence
1999
Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition - Second Place
Oconomowok Festival of Art - Oconomowok, WI - First Place
1997
Great Gulf Coast Festival of Art - Pensacola, FL - First Place
1994
Boca Raton Museum of Art Crocker Center - Third Place, Ceramics
1990
American Artisan Festival - Nashville, TN - Award of Excellence
1987
Jerome Foundation Award, American Craft Expo - St. Paul, MN
1986
Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, Pensacola, FL – Award of Excellence
COLLECTIONS
Smithsonian Institution Renwick Gallery, Washinton DC
Fredrick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Minneapolis MN
Racine Art Museum, Racine WI
Margaret Harlow Collection, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN
Minnesota State Historical Society Museum, St. Paul, MN
The Bindley Collection, Madison, WI
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Arizona State University, ceramics collection
REPRESENTATION
AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
The Grand Hand, St Paul, MN
LaCoste Gallery, Concord, MA
Lemieux Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
Red Star Studios Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Rochester Art Center, Rochester MN
Schaller Gallery, Benton Harbor, MI
Trax Gallery, Berkley, CA
APPRENTICESHIPS
1970
The Gallery Studio, Fort Collins, CO
1969
Wynne Studios, Colorado Springs, CO
1967-1968
James Vandergriff, Zarah, KS
SELECTED ART FAIRS
The Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington DC
American Craft Expo, Evanston, IL
The Washington Craft Show, Washington DC
Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL
The Philadelphia Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
Old Town Arts Festival, Chicago, IL
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO
Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, MN
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI
St. Crois Valley Potters Tour, MN
Pottery Invitational, Old Church Cultural Center, Demerest, NJ
Northern Virginia Festival of the Arts, Reston, VA
Sausalito Festival of Art, Sausalite, CA
Winter Park Festival of Art, Winter Park, FL
American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Sun Valley Arts Festival, Sun Valley, ID
Lakefront, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
New Orleans Jazz Festival, New Orleans, LA
American Craft Expo, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
Boca Raton Museum Festival, Boca Raton, FL
Des Moines Festival of Art, Des Moines, IA
American Craftgs Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Plaza Art Festival, Kansas City, MO
Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, Tampa, FL
Minnesota Crafts Festival, St. Paul, MN
TEACHING/WORKSHOPS
2012
Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais
2011
Art Center of Minnesota, Wayzata, MN
2009
Art Center of Minnesota, Wayzata, MN
Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais, MN
Grand Marais Art Colony, Grand Marais
Art Center of Minnesota, Wayzata, MN
2008
Arrowmont School of Art, Gatlinburg, TN
2007
Red Star Studios, Kansas City MO
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
Irish National Craft Council, Thomastown, IRE
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
2000-2007
Edina Arts Center, Edina, MN
2006
Wichita State University, “Clay Nation”, Wichita, KS
Northern Clay Center, McKnight Workshop
2005
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
2004
Red Star Studios, Kansas City MO
Hinckley Pottery Workshop, Washington DC
2003
Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton NJ
American Pottery Festival, Minneapolis MN
2002
Hinckley Pottery Workshop, Washington DC
Duluth Art Center, Duluth MN
2001
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
2000
University of Wisconsin, River Falls, WI
“Warren McKenzie and Friends” NCECA, Continental Clay, MN
1999
Art Center of Minnesota, Wayzata, MN
92nd Street Y, New York, NY
Cambridge Potters Guild, Cambridge WI
1998
"10 Points of View" Northern Clay Center, St. Paul, MN
Macalaster College, St. Paul, MN
1997
Lill Street Gallery Studios, Chicago, IL
1996
Florida International University, Miami FL
1995
St. Olaf's College, Northfield, MN
1993
McNider Museum, Mason City, IA