Bryan Hopkins

Artist Statement

Following in the lineage of “fine china” I produce objects for domestic service, adding my own sense of affect and defect. The work’s primary use is that of a utilitarian object, and all the pieces perform as they should – cups hold fluids, vases present flowers without leaking, etc... I have been using porcelain for about 30 years now, and am drawn to its’ physical qualities (strength, fragility, color, translucence) as well as the implicit class association, cultural significance, and assumption of purity and worth. My urban environment, artists Gordon Matta Clark and DeChirico and Serra, Bugs Bunny, Modernist architecture (earlier I.M Pei ), backyard forts, model cars and airplanes, 19th-century European porcelain, Song Dynasty porcelain, and Modernism all inform and affect the work.

Artist Bio

Bryan Hopkins was born in Philadelphia, PA. He began at West Chester University of PA as a mathematics major and found the ceramics studio in his junior year. Bryan went on to earn an MFA in Ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He has been a studio potter working in porcelain since 1990 and has lived in Buffalo, NY, since 1995. Bryan’s personal research in the field of ceramics centers on the vessel- both utilitarian and sculptural. Bryan teaches at Niagara County Community College. He has curated ceramics exhibitions both nationally and locally. Bryan’s work has been exhibited in group and solo shows nationally, including the NCECA Clay National Biennial. His work and research in ceramics have been published in Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Studio Potter, and numerous textbooks and e-books. <p>Bryan is also a New York Foundation on the Arts Fellow in Craft.