bio

Artist, Brandon Reese, works primarily with stoneware, porcelain and accentuates much of his work with wood. He received his BFA in sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute where he became proficient in bronze, cast iron, steel, wood and ceramics. While in Kansas City he apprenticed with Jim Leedy until pursuing a graduate degree specializing in ceramics at Bowling Green State University. There, he had the privilege of working with artists Jun Kaneko, Don Reitz and Peter Voulkos. While at Bowling Green, he focused on salt and wood firing for creating unusual and varied surfaces on each sculpture. Upon graduation, Reese was hired by Oklahoma State University as an assistant professor of its newly expanded ceramics department which he built and expanded and currently serves as head of its department. In addition to teaching, Reese regularly exhibits his large-scale ceramic sculptures. His work has been exhibited in Germany, and Taiwan. Galleries across the United States represent his work. Additionally, Brandon creates corporate and private commissioned work for high profiled celebrities and clients. He also is a part of several permanent museum collections. Although most of Reese’s exhibitions are ceramic sculpture, he balances teaching the hand-building techniques with wheel throwing pottery and functional vessels.

Reese’s work is predominately known for their simple, familiar forms created in a variety of methods and at such large scales that they push the traditional boundaries of ceramic art. They are playful yet elegant, whimsical and refined. His sculptures express the idea that relationships offer a unique ability to enhance the individual elements while simultaneously unifying them to create a powerfully emotional and visual experience.

Artist Statement

"My current works are constructed of salt glazed stoneware and reclaimed native wood. I combine the clay and wood to bring emphasis to both materials and to make the viewer more aware of the characteristics of each. My work is motivated by life. An amalgamation of memories, images and relationships inspire all that I do. My fascination with architecture and patterns in life and in nature become the language that exposes my intrigue with the elements in relationships that connect the distinctive parts of individuals making them function like a unit. Scale heightens the visual experience of these structural investigations...playfully defining space and pushing the boundaries of ceramics.

My work also relates to my belief that the best part of life is the process; and that true success comes when you can wear all the marks that life leaves with beauty and grace, allowing them to become a part of you and serving as mementos of where you came from and how you got there. My art wears the fingerprints, cuts, dents and other texturing as a roadmap and documentation of its creation."