Brady Fanning ( He/Him )

My work explores the tension between power, protection, and desire by blending organic and synthetic forms into hybrid sculptures that defy traditional boundaries. Influenced by ancient Greek vessels, architecture, and weaponry, I create pieces that are both aggressive and seductive, using ornamentation to exaggerate sharp, spiked, and curved extensions. These forms blur the line between the natural and the technological, merging craft with the aesthetics of sci-fi and fantasy.         

I utilize wheel-thrown forms while also integrating hand-building techniques to construct additional sculptural elements. I then use molds to ensure precise replication and assemble these segments onto complex structures. Once my structures are built, I focus on surface ornamentation, spraying and brushing layers of glaze and underglaze to enhance the tension between the organic and synthetic. Metallic finishes and bold underglaze patterns, these treatments mimic industrial, sci-fi motifs and circuitry while fetishizing specific parts of the sculpture, much like high fashion accentuates the human body through adornment and form.

Through these hybrid forms, I engage with themes of fetishism, futurism, and transcending the constructs of traditional pottery. The work's aggressive, highly ornamental details invite viewers to question the boundaries between the human, the technological, and the sacred. By merging craft, speculative design, and queer fashion aesthetics, I challenge traditional notions of identity, power, and beauty, imagining a post-human future where ceramics stands at the intersection of craft and high art.

Brady Fanning is a ceramic artist from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is the 2025 Lormina Salter Fellow at Baltimore Clayworks, where he is currently in residence. Brady graduated with his MFA from the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University Bloomington and earned his BFA in ceramics from Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2021. With teaching experience in ceramics and 3D design, Brady combines technical skill with speculative design to create intricate sculptures that explore power, protection, and queer identity. He is currently represented by ADC Fine Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio.His work has been exhibited nationally, including Currents and Charges at the 2023 NCECA in Cincinnati, The State of Clay in Indiana at the Indianapolis Arts Center, and Brilliant Hues & Intimate Forms with Second Story Studio and the Kinsey Institute. Brady received Best in Show at Hot & Sweaty Summer National in 2024 at Backspace Gallery, Bloomington, IN, and at the 2025 NSAL Exhibition at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts, where he was also awarded the “Chapter Career Award”.Most recently, Brady presented his MFA thesis exhibition on April 8th, 2025, at the Grunwald Gallery in Bloomington, IN, and is now continuing to develop his practice through his fellowship and gallery representation.