Press Release

Brother Thomas Bezanson

The Harrison Gallery will present a comprehensive showing of internationally acclaimed master ceramist Brother Thomas Bezanson. Brother Thomas' work has been acquired by more than fifty international  museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, the Boston Museum  of Fine Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum of Art, London, the Vatican Museum, Rome, and Japan's Osaka Municipal Museum. In collaboration with the Pucker Gallery, Boston, the Harrison Gallery will exhibit over thirty unique porcelain forms exquisitely glazed in traditional honan tenmoku and copper reds, as well as more elaborate coverings invented by the venerated, spiritually guided ceramist.

Brother Thomas Bezanson, born 1924 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, began handling clay at 24 under the influence of potters Foster & Sandy Beveridge and ceramic engineer Fritz Weber. In 1950, Thomas graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. In 1958, while traveling and studying in Europe, Brother Thomas happened upon religious writings that inspired him to enter the Benedictine Monastery of Weston, Vermont. While living a monastic life, Brother Thomas pursued a Masters Degree from the University of Ottawa, became a visiting lecturer at New York's Alfred University School of Ceramics and a guest lecturer at artistic institutions around the world. In 1978, he traveled throughout both Japan and Taipei to study master potting traditions. Brother Thomas took his current position as Artist in Residence of Mount St. Benedict in Erie, PA in 1985.

To create his glazes, Brother Thomas spent years experimenting with a variety of natural substances gathered from many parts of the world.  This process of discovery has produced patterns that suggest Nature's delicate side - partridge feathers, chrysanthemum petals , hare's fur - and colors that reflect the Earth's dramatic beauty.  The ashes of Vermont elm and spruce woods yield subtle greens and blues.  Copper flares into spectrums of rose-red, indigo and violet, while iron produces rich browns, blacks and yellow.  Rare mineral deposits gleaned from an Armenian river melt into a tapestry of multi-colored veils of the aurora, and the gold, ruby and ochre of islands born in fire are all present in the work of Brother Thomas.

Brother Thomas' inspirational pieces reflect a clarity of spirit, a simplicity of being, and a rare connection to the wholeness of life. His work is recognized by 65 museums, an array of global art institutes, and
major art collectors who seek the profound essence of beauty presented in his porcelain forms.