ROBERT BRADY – (1946 - )

Robert Brady found in a focus and direction that was missing in his rootless upbringing. He began as a functional potter during his undergraduate years at California College of Arts and Crafts but fairly soon became more interested in sculptural work. Following his graduation from University of California, Davis, where he studied under such luminaries as and Manuel Neri, he began his teaching career at California State University, Sacramento, where he continues on the faculty. Brady works in a wide variety of media – clay, wood, mixed media, drawing and print-making – but it is his that comprise the majority of his work and for which he is best known. Spare, abstract, his figures are stripped to their essence, totemic in a way that conveys a range of emotions and evokes an equally large range of responses. “There has to be a constant revival, variation, and change in my work. I just can‟t keep doing the same thing, or variations of it until it‟s pushed into the ground. This comes from those life experiences I‟ve had, the constant turnover, change, endings, birthings. These have real relationships to each other and to my work and are more important to it than talking about it in terms of „why‟ and „how.‟ My life (is the biggest) explanation for my work.”1

1. Janice T. Driesbach. Robert Brady: a Survey Exhibition. Sacramento, CA: , 1989, 25.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT – ROBERT BRADY

“From the moment I discovered making things, I‟ve been drawn to unfolding these chapters of possibility and, in a sense, unfolding whatever I have to offer or what‟s in my experience. That kind of unfolding or peeling away layers is never ending. The layers enrich what I‟ve done in the past or add texture and pith. I just feel driven by a sense of discovery or adventure, and sometimes it‟s a nuance of discovery, a slight change that becomes meaningful, and sometimes it happens in large chunks, as a breakthrough. I find it forever exciting.”1

1. Quoted in: “Robert Brady: New Work.” http://www.lewallencontemporary.com/press_item.html?id-59

RESUME – ROBERT BRADY

1946 Born, Reno, NV

1964-1969 California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland, CA, B.F.A.

1969 U.S. Navy

1971-1973 House painter and Studio Artist

1973-1975 University of California at Davis, M.F.A.

1975 Instructor, American River College, Sacramento, CA

1975-1982 Assistant Professor, California State University, Sacramento, CA

1980-1982 Mastercraftsperson, Clay, Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN

1981 National Endowment for the Arts Craftsman‟s Award

1982-1985 Associate Professor, California State University, Sacramento, CA

1983 Southeastern Artist‟s Fellowship Award

1985-present Professor, California State University, Sacramento, CA

1986-1987 Visiting Professor, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

1988 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Visual Arts and Crafts

1989 SECA/NEA Fellowship

2007 Aileen Osborn Webb Award

BIOGRAPHY – ROBERT BRADY

It has been said that all families are dysfunctional, each in its own way, and Robert Brady‟s is no exception. Born in Reno, NV, his childhood years were marked by instability. His parents were restless and impulsive, moving frequently from job to job, place to place, in and out of relationships, and always searching for a perfect life that didn‟t exist. Over time his parents worked in casinos and car lots, restaurants and supermarkets; they married each other twice and divorced twice, married and divorced others, and Brady and his brother were caught up in their rootless existence. This peripatetic life was what he knew and the one he assumed he would follow; possibly that is exactly what would have happened had not a serious illness in his junior year in high school changed the direction of his life. The victim of Reiter‟s Syndrome, he was initially misdiagnosed as having rheumatic fever and spent the next six months greatly restricted at home. When the disease finally went into remission, he determined to still graduate with his class by taking a full load and, to ease the burden of the heavy academics, chose to take a crafts class which he believed would be easy. His first assignment was to make a ceramic pitcher and the experience with the clay was an epiphany. In addition the pitcher was successful enough that it was included in a school exhibition; as a result, the indifferent student with no direction became a young man who had found something that he both loved doing and that met with approval and appreciation.

At his craft teacher‟s suggestion he applied and was accepted to California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, CA, where his work was primarily functional. However, his exposure to the work of the abstract expressionist ceramists resonated with him. “He could make the clay speak,” he said of the powerful work of .1 Also of influence was the semester he spent in Mexico at a satellite campus during his senior year where he was exposed to Pre- Columbian art and its correlation between the spiritual and the physical. Returning to California, he began pursuing a more sculptural approach to ceramics, turning from the wheel to hand- building and working under Hal Rieggeer. “…I put the vessel on the back burner; I felt it was a crutch and limited full sculptural potential.”2 While continuing to work, Brady drifted for several years, working for a time at Mills College; spending 18 months in the Navy; and houses while his first wife, Frances, was in school. Again, a chance experience brought his drifting to an abrupt halt. Looking through issues of Art in America at a client‟s home, he came upon an interview with Isamu Noguchi and a portfolio of his work. The effect was instantaneous: he left the job, returned home to where a 300-pound barrel of clay had sat untouched, and by the end of the day had made 40 small figures, landscapes, and masks. Further, it compelled him to return to school, choosing the nearby University of California at Davis and studying under Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri, and other distinguished artists. There his work continued to evolve towards the sculptural and away from the functional, and while a figurative element was present, it was the geometric forms that were his focus, primarily ceramic grids.

In the summer after his graduation in 1975, Brady visited an area called Pyramid Lake north of Reno. Growing up he and his father took fishing trips to the lake, and the stark beauty of the desert setting still had a hold on him. “I find the desert to be much more powerful in an essential kind of way than any other nature situation,” he said in an interview with Richard Whittaker. “…there is more of the baring of the fundamental, geological soul of this universe there. It‟s like the Truth, you know?...It has such an essential quality and there‟s so much history that you can feel that‟s been stripped and put before you. It‟s impossible not to think about a vast amount of time and the influence of geologic activity.”3 In a way he found a sense of personal peace and focus in the beauty of the desert that complemented the feelings that he had working in clay. That fall he accepted a teaching position at California State University in Sacramento and remains on the faculty as a Professor of Art. He continued his own work as well, making vessels but still evolving toward the figures and sculptural works. A second attack of the Reiter‟s Syndrome in 1978 made his move to sculptural work complete, and the figures that emerged after he was able to return to work reflected his feelings about the effects of the illness on his body.

The early 1980‟s were a period of disruption in his life. His first marriage was ending and Brady took a leave of absence from the college to join the founding faculty of the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Smithville, TN. His time at Smithville was very productive and he produced several groups of sculptures. He began throwing the heads on the wheel and enjoyed getting back to the wheel after the long absence. For a time he threw a number of vessels as well, finishing them with painted and scratched figurative decorations. Brady spent two years at Smithville, returning to California to resume teaching, and newly married to ceramic artist Sandra Simon. Today the couple live in the Berkeley area where both pursue their artistic careers and also operate a gallery, Trax Gallery, featuring functional ceramic work.

Brady produces some functional ware but the majority of his work is sculptural, and within his sculptural work it is the human figure that occupies most of his attention. The figures are abstracted not literal, and seek to portray the essence of the being rather than its appearance. “I tend to play with the figure about every way I can,” he has said, “abstracting it and altering the proportions and trying to create interesting dynamics. I‟m trying to achieve some emotional symbolism, a kind of timelessness. I‟m not interested in realism. I want to create some sort of surprise apart from what we know as the „truth‟ about the figure.”4 He has also moved beyond clay and his work now includes wood carving and mixed media of all varieties. His work has been compared to that of Nathan Oliveira and Manuel Neri and also to totems or ritual figures from other civilizations. “It‟s almost a poetic form,” Brady says about his figures. “It‟s not something I do consciously, but I have learned that my forms tend to express things in a universal language that crosses cultures. I take liberties to create interest with the figure just as form, and people seem to see them as being invested with a certain amount of spiritual and emotional sensation.”5

In addition to his sculptural and functional ceramic work, Brady makes time for drawing and print-making. His diverse work has been the subject of a number of exhibitions including a mid- career survey at the Crocker Art Museum in 1989. His pieces are in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Fine Arts Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art among others both private and public. He has been honored with two National Endowment for the Arts grants and most recently the Aileen Osborn Webb Award.

1. Janice T. Driesbach. Robert Brady: a Survey Exhibition. Sacramento, CA: Crocker Art Museum, 1989, 11. 2. Robert Brady. “Dual Citizenship” Studio Potter 34 no. 1 (December 2005). 3. Richard Whittaker. “Interview with Robert Brady. http://www.conversations.org/story.php?sid=96 4. “Robert Brady: New Work.” http://www.lewallencontemporary.com/press_item.html?id=59 5. Ibid.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – ROBERT BRADY

Books and Catalogs

Adair, Anne, Sandy Simon, et al. More Than Clay: the Toki Collection of Ceramics. Davis, CA: Pence Gallery, 1998.

Clark, Garth. American Ceramics 1876 to the Present. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987.

Driesbach, Janice T. Robert Brady: a Survey Exhibition. Sacramento, CA: Crocker Art Museum, 1989.

Faberman, Hilarie, Tenley C. Bick, and Susan C. Cameron. Fired at Davis. Stanford, CA: Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, 2005.

Hanaor, Cigalle, Rob Barnard, et al. Breaking the Mould: New Approaches to Ceramics. London: Black Dog, 2007.

Held, Peter, ed. A Human Impulse. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Art Museum, 2008.

Levin, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics 1607 to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988.

Mayfield, Signe. Robert Brady 1989-2005. Palo Alto, CA: Palo Alto Art Center, 2006.

Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000.

Peterson, Susan. The Craft and Art of Clay. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Porges, Maria. Robert Brady. San Jose, CA: The Natalie and James Thompson Gallery, San Jose State University, 1996.

Rawson, Philip. Ceramics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1984.

Servis, Nancy M. The Eve Aesthetic: Contemporary Figurative Clay Sculpture by Artists from TB-9. Davis, CA: Memorial Union Art Gallery, Pence Gallery Association, 2004.

Turner, Anderson. Raku, Pit & Barrel: Firing Techniques. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2007.

Wechsler, Susan. The Raw Edge: Ceramics of the „80‟s. Greenvale, NY: Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University, 1983.

Periodicals

Brady, Robert. “Dual Citizenship.” Studio Potter 34 no. 1 (December 2005): 48-51.

Cebulski, Frank. “Palo Alto: Robert Brady: Palo Alto Art Center.” Sculpture (Washington, DC) 25 no. 8 (October 2006): 71.

“Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota.” American Craft 60 no. 3 (June/July 2000): 26-27.

“Functional Connections.” Ceramics Monthly 50 no. 6 (June/August 2002): 43-44.

“{The Human Figures of Robert Brady, California State University, Chico; Exhibit.}” Ceramics Monthly 33 (November 1985): 65+.

Koplos, Janet. “Robert Brady at the Fuller Craft Museum.” Art in America 96 no. 3 (March 2008): 176-177.

Koppman, Debra. “Fired at Davis.” Artweek 36 no. 7 (September 2005): 29.

Quay Ceramics Gallery, San Francisco; Exhibit.” Ceramics Monthly 25 (January 1977): 60-61.

“Quay Ceramics Gallery, San Francisco; Exhibit.” Craft Horizons 36 (April 1976): 15.

“Quay Ceramics Gallery, San Francisco; Exhibit.” Craft Horizons 37 (February 1977): 56.

“Robert Brady.” American Craft 68 no. 3 (June/July 2008): 38.

Schwartzburg, Anne. “Robert Brady‟s Vases and Bowls.” Ceramics Monthly 43 (September 1995): 53-54.

“Trans-Mission.” Ceramics Monthly 52 no. 1 (January 2004): 37-39.

Webster, Mary Hull. “The Initiation.” Artweek (April 8 1993): 22-23.

White, Cheryl. “Robert Brady.” American Ceramics 12 no. 1 (1995): 54.

______. “Robert Brady: Masked Gods.” American Craft 49 (December/January 1989-1990): 30-37.

Video and Other Media

“Revolutions of the Wheel: The Emergence of Clay Art.” Directed and edited by Scott Sterling. Queens Row, 1997. VHS

Whitesides, Elvin, Jo Lauria, et al. “Color and Fire.” Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2002, 2000. DVD

GALLERY REPRESENTATION – ROBERT BRADY

B. Sakata Garo Gallery, 923 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95811

Braunstein/Quay Gallery, 430 Clementina, San Francisco, CA 94103

Harvey/Meadows Gallery, 0133 Prospector Road, Suite 4114 A, Aspen Highlands Village, Aspen, CO 81611

Stremmel Gallery, 1400 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89502

Trax Gallery, 1812 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710

WEB SITES – ROBERT BRADY http://www.traxgallery.com/artist.php?sid=brady Trax Gallery web site for Robert Brady http://www.stremmelgallery.com/exhibitions/21_bradyr/press.html Stremmel Gallery article on Brady plus photos http://www.bquayartgallery.com/artists/brady_bio.html Braunstein/Quay Gallery web site for Robert Brady with resume http://www.onlinenevada.org/Robert_Brady Biographical article on Robert Brady http://www.conversations.org/story.php?sid=96 Interview with Robert Brady by Richard Whittaker http://www.bsakatagaro.com/reviews/robertbrady.html B. Sakata Garo Gallery web site with reviews of Brady exhibitions http://www.mendocino.edu/tc/pg/5276/mc_art_gallerys_next.html Announcement/article of show of Robert Brady and Sandy Simon http://www.harveymeadows.com/artists/biographies/brady_bio.html Harvey/Meadows Gallery web site for Robert Brady http://www.newsreview.com/reno/Content?oid=37481 Carli Cutchin. “Intimidating Sculpture.” Article on Brady‟s sculpture.

March 2009