Brian Morgenlander

The exploration of my identity is manifested through the process of making ceramic sculptures that encode memories that are etched in my mind. They illustrate a dichotomy of stability and unpredictability in my life, where I can only control so much. Years ago, I decided to not cloud my life with meaningless clutter, but rather with meaningful experiences. This often leads me to do things in an alternative way, to hitchhike around the world, to bike across the country, to live in a van. I choose to live on the edge the best I can without falling off into the true vagabond world that I once desired. Traveling allows me to find new limits for myself making the uncomfortable more comfortable. It is this yearning for new experiences that constantly expands my comfort zone, and it is that excitement and sense of adventure that informs my artwork.

These sculptures are a way for me to travel while being home. With each sculpture I make, I push myself to discover something new, growing my material comfort zone. Clay records every little manipulation, allowing me to have control over the material. The action of throwing on the potters wheel is meditative. By centering the clay on the wheel, I am also centering myself. Clay and the potters wheel are my tools to escape the stress in my life.

My abstract ceramic sculptures consist of several bottomless wheel-thrown parts that are individually stacked and arranged in and on one another. I thread the extruded rods through the wheel thrown parts, making each component reliant on the others. I arrange bricks in the kiln to control how much a piece may bend or fall during the firing, but once I close the door to the kiln, I give up all my control. At that point, the heat takes over, shrinks the clay, and melts the glaze allowing each piece to slide, bend, and at times collapse on one another. They then settle in their final resting place where they are bound together by the glaze, resulting in one solid piece. There is a dialogue between intention and chance, a dichotomy of the planned order and the organic changes that unfold. As much as I want to have power over each situation in my life, I cannot -- I have to accept the uncontrollable forces.

Brian Morgenlander was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He attended University of Miami where he received a BA in Geography in 2017. After biking across the country, he attended University of Florida’s ceramics Post-Bac program. The next year, he spent as an artist in residence at 323Clay in Kansas City. Brian has traveled extensively hitchhiking throughout the world which plays a large influence his sculptures. In 2023, Brian, received his MFA in Ceramics from the West Virginia University. Brian has worked for the ceramics department at Savannah College of Art and Design and is currently the ceramics technician at University of Wisconsin.