Exhibitions
Bio
I trained as a painter but it was colour and all the possibilities of form and texture that attracted me to ceramics, and I am still stuck in the mud! One of the great things about clay is that there never seems to be an end to what you can do with it. As someone who likes to muck around with lots of ideas, clay has been the perfect partner in crime. I really do feel I have only just started.
Brendan Adams is a fine art ceramicist who has amassed a large following of clientele drawn to his creative and highly innovative sculpture. He is known for his brightly coloured slipcast ceramics, originally using Crown Lynn clay. More recently, his contemporary abstract and figurative designs have seen him include other materials such as steel, brass, aluminium, and wood.
While many of his pieces are decorative, some also serve a function, as we see in his ceramic art bird feeders, candle holders, smartphone speakers, and working radios.
Brendan has been making a living from clay since 1987. He and his wife Kathryn set up a ceramic shop together in Kingsland, which they ran for ten years. In 2013, they opened Front Room Gallery where they exhibited their own work and featured other New Zealand potters. Together, they now run Brendan Adams Designs from their home studio in Auckland.
Brendan has a diploma in Fine Arts from Otago Polytechnic, where he majored in painting. He has taught at Auckland's Unitec and the Auckland Studio Potter Society. His work has been exhibited throughout the country in major competitions and exhibitions where he has won several awards, and is represented in the Auckland Museum, James Wallace Trust, and regional collections. Brendan’s domestic ware is well recognised for its pacific colours, easy kiwi attitude, and inventiveness.