“In 1973, as senior in high school I began my journey with clay. Since that time I’ve continued to have clay on my mind almost every day. At the beginning I looked at local potters for inspiration, like Pete Voulkos and Paul Soldner and also traditional Japanese wood fire techniques. As time went on nature became the primary inspiration. The work in this exhibit was done in last year. But in my mind it is the culmination of the last 41 years.”
Brad Mildrexler has developed a small cult following over the years, relatively unknown by the general public but celebrated in the fine art community for his experiments with high-fire glazes and melting rocks. Mildrexler operates as a sort of ceramic “blacksmith” at his furnace forging molten clay objects. His sculptural work is immediately recognizable for its mass and surface texture, and his most recent pieces work together to suggest the entire range of geological topography. Mildrexler’s investigations into the creative process of manipulating extreme heat strategically document his contributions to the important developments in contemporary ceramic sculpture at a time when artistic intention is expressed in both process and accident.
