Fragments of Light

Monthly Archives: June 2018

The Beauty That Makes Life

The elegant forms of Brother Thomas Bezanson’s porcelain pottery are completed by a vivid array of extraordinary glazes produced from his own original glaze recipes.

Brother Thomas Bezanson, Wheel Form Vase with blue-purple and opalescent white glaze, Image Courtesy of Pucker Gallery.

“Art is something seen about something unseen.” — Brother Thomas

Brother Thomas Bezanson, Large Vase with Cover, Honan Tenmoku Glaze,

Image Courtesy of Pucker Gallery.

From an introduction in a catalog of the artists work written by Sr Joan Chittister:
Brother Thomas is an artist formed in the monastic art of the pursuit of Beauty. He is single-minded, in awe of the beauty that makes life, life, immersed in the center of it, in praise of the power of it, in search of the creativity that captures it for us now, again, forever, always.

 

 

“Risking is important, not just in the potter’s art but in art itself, which in the long view is a never-ending quest for the unattainable.” — Brother Thomas

Brother Thomas Bezanson, Vase, Northern Celadon with Iron Yellow, Image Courtesy of Pucker Gallery.

Brother Thomas Bezanson, Vase with Alternate Lids, Iron Yellow Glaze, Image Courtesy of Pucker Gallery.

 

Artist bio

Brother Thomas Bezanson (1929-2007) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He graduated in 1950 from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He began working as a potter in 1953 and later entered the Benedictine Monastery in Weston, Vermont where he lived and worked for twenty-five years. In 1985 he become artist-in-residence in the community of Benedictine Sisters in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Capitalizing on the inherent qualities of high temperature porcelain, Bezanson invented and tested thousands of glazes over the years, achieving gem-like surfaces of striking originality. He has had numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums, and his works are included in over 80 international collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
His work is represented by Pucker Gallery: