Brendan Monroe x Heath Ceramics : Blobography
Blobography, Heath’s latest artist collaboration with Art Center grad Brendan Monroe. The show, curated by Heath’s LA studio director Adam Silverman, runs November 1 through November 30, 2014 with an opening reception on November 1 from 6 to 8:30 pm at Heath’s Los Angeles Showroom and Gallery. The show includes a series of limited edition ceramic pieces from the collaboration, as well as Brendan’s newest sculptures, drawings and paintings.
Brendan sculpted forms out of wood, which were born of his paintings and drawings of alternate landscapes that feel both real and surreal. Then, working with LA Clay Studio manager Alex Reed, the forms became molds, which met clay, which then met glaze.
About the process, Alex comments, “It’s exciting to work with an artist like Brendan because he has no preconceived ideas about how clay should or should not be used. Scale, texture, surface, and form are all blank pages. The pieces were larger and more complex than most of the things Heath makes, and learning always happens when the scale shifts. I guided Brendan in how to test glaze combinations, and once we had 5 or 6 combos we liked, we glazed each piece together. I learned about using the Heath glazes in alternative ways, and the studio ended up with 40 or 50 exciting test tiles.”
Brendan also discovered a new medium for his voice as he worked through the collaboration. “Clay has a lack of structure that makes working with it directly feel like my drawing process; continually working and touching the material until completion. Directly forming the clay, like drawing, is intuitive and responsive to my hand in a way that working with wood is not.”
Brendan Monroe was born in Santa Barbara, California, and studied at Art Center in Pasadena. A sculptor and painter, his work consists of explorations of his ideas and dreams, which translate into images of a familiar but unseen world. It's this dual quality and the tension between the reality and surreality that gives them their power and allure. Brendan's work is represented by Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica and at Galerie L.J. in Paris and his work has been exhibited in Asia, Europe and North America. In addition, his fine art work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker and New American Paintings. Brendan lives and works in Oakland, CA with his wife Evah Fan and Jalapeno, the cat.
Adam Silverman is Heath’s LA Studio Director. In addition to working with LA Studio Manager Alex Reed to direct development of original pieces, he also contributes to the design direction of Heath as a whole, develops events and shows in LA, and engages with the local creative community. Adam also continues to work as a ceramic artist, pushing the limits of scale and creativity through his independent studio in Glendale, Los Angeles.
Inspired by iconic mid-century design houses and by Heath's designer-maker legacy, Heath Los Angeles includes a studio where original pieces are designed and created for their three showrooms, as well as for the local Los Angeles design, restaurant and hospitality community. An integral part of the LA location is the gallery space where they host shows with artists, makers and thinkers that inspire the community.
See entire collection on view at the gallery here.
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Blobography: Brendan Monroe × Heath
Heath Ceramics, Los Angeles | 7525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
Reception with the artist : Saturday, November 1, 2014, 6 – 8:30 pm
Show on view November 1 - November 30, 2014
RSVP here