BrotherThomas Bezanson (August 5, 1929 – August 16, 2007) was a Canadian-born artist and Benedictine monk primarily known for his porcelain pottery and mastery of complex glazes. Strongly influenced by Asian pottery, often adapting traditional Chinese and Japanese pottery methods and materials to his work.
Brother Thomas was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a descendant of Irish and Scottish families that had been in Nova Scotia for many generations. In 1950 he graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. He also spent some time in New York City studying at Art Students League of New York. From 1951–58 he both worked in business and was an advisor to the Nova Scotia Handcraft Century. He began working in pottery in 1953. In 1958–59 he traveled and studied in Europe. In 1959 he entered the Benedictine Monastery, Weston Priory, in Weston, VT. In 1968 he graduated from University of Ottawa with a master's degree in Philosophy and a University Gold Medal. In 1976 he was a visiting lecturer at Alfred University School of Ceramics. In 1978 he traveled in Japan and to Taipei. While in Japan he met with five "Living National Treasure (Japan)" potters. In 1983 he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Since 1985 he has been the Artist-in-Residence, Mount Saint Benedict, Erie, Pennsylvania. He has had hundreds of exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. His works are in over 80 museum collections.
Brother Thomas is renowned for his original glaze recipes and perfect forms and always sought to create something new and beautiful. His exacting standards made for the shattering of over 80% of each firing. One "rescued" piece, however, is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Brother Thomas died at his home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on 16 August 2007.
It was Brother Thomas' dream and vision to establish a Fund to help struggling artists, as he was helped in his life's journey. The Brother Thomas Fund was established under the auspices of the Boston Foundation upon the artist's death. Since 2007, proceeds from the sale of his work have gone into this Fund and in October 2009, the first eight Brother Thomas Fellowships were awarded to struggling, mid-career Boston artists in the amount of $15,000 each.
The Brother Thomas Fund is supported by donations and by proceeds from the sale of Brother Thomas's work through the Pucker Gallery in Boston. As of 2021, 72 artists had received $1,080,000 in grants. The Fellowships are awarded every two years. (The Boston Foundation maintains information on the fund and fellowships that includes rosters of current and past fellows.)
Exhibition Catalogue. 79 pp., illus. (some col. ); 23 cm. Exhibition held at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, Massachusetts, June 1-September 7, 1980.
"Gifts From the Fire". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1993
"Creation out of Clay". Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery, 1999
"Celebrate the Days: Brother Thomas Book of Days". Pucker Art Publications, 2000
"This is the Day: Work and Words of Brother Thomas". Pucker Art Publications. Syracuse University Press, 978-0-8028-6312-6, 2007
QuotesEdit
"Art is meant to open the human heart to truth and beauty, goodness and unity. It is like a finger pointing to the moon. It is not the finger that is important, it is the moon."
"First you do what is necessary, then you do what is possible and before you know it you are doing the impossible."
"The thing we all strive for is to shape our humanity in the image of God, to do good, stand up for what is true, create what is beautiful, and live for what unites and does not divide."
ImagesEdit
Pucker Gallery:
Brother Thomas Small lidded vase with celadon glaze, ca. 1980
The Art Museum Image Consortium Library Vase, Flask Form, Hunan Tenmoku, 1988
Ceramics Monthly – December 2006 A Long and Winding Road to Artistic Success by Richard Busch 4.4 MB PDF document
Who's Who: Japanese Ceramic Artists
Boston Phoenix:
October 16, 2023
thomas, bezanson, brother, august, 1929, august, 2007, canadian, born, artist, benedictine, monk, primarily, known, porcelain, pottery, mastery, complex, glazes, strongly, influenced, asian, pottery, often, adapting, traditional, chinese, japanese, pottery, me. Brother Thomas Bezanson August 5 1929 August 16 2007 was a Canadian born artist and Benedictine monk primarily known for his porcelain pottery and mastery of complex glazes Strongly influenced by Asian pottery often adapting traditional Chinese and Japanese pottery methods and materials to his work Thomas BezansonBornCharles Bezanson 1929 08 05 August 5 1929Halifax Nova Scotia CanadaDiedAugust 16 2007 2007 08 16 aged 78 Erie Pennsylvania United StatesNationalityAmerican CanadianEducationNova Scotia College of Art and Design Art Students League of New York University of OttawaKnown forCeramic artist Contents 1 Biography 2 Exhibitions and honors 3 Known collections 4 Bibliography 5 Quotes 6 Images 7 References 8 External linksBiography EditBrother Thomas was born in Halifax Nova Scotia a descendant of Irish and Scottish families that had been in Nova Scotia for many generations In 1950 he graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design He also spent some time in New York City studying at Art Students League of New York From 1951 58 he both worked in business and was an advisor to the Nova Scotia Handcraft Century He began working in pottery in 1953 In 1958 59 he traveled and studied in Europe In 1959 he entered the Benedictine Monastery Weston Priory in Weston VT In 1968 he graduated from University of Ottawa with a master s degree in Philosophy and a University Gold Medal In 1976 he was a visiting lecturer at Alfred University School of Ceramics In 1978 he traveled in Japan and to Taipei While in Japan he met with five Living National Treasure Japan potters In 1983 he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant Since 1985 he has been the Artist in Residence Mount Saint Benedict Erie Pennsylvania He has had hundreds of exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world His works are in over 80 museum collections Brother Thomas is renowned for his original glaze recipes and perfect forms and always sought to create something new and beautiful His exacting standards made for the shattering of over 80 of each firing One rescued piece however is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston Brother Thomas died at his home in Erie Pennsylvania on 16 August 2007 It was Brother Thomas dream and vision to establish a Fund to help struggling artists as he was helped in his life s journey The Brother Thomas Fund was established under the auspices of the Boston Foundation upon the artist s death Since 2007 proceeds from the sale of his work have gone into this Fund and in October 2009 the first eight Brother Thomas Fellowships were awarded to struggling mid career Boston artists in the amount of 15 000 each The Brother Thomas Fund is supported by donations and by proceeds from the sale of Brother Thomas s work through the Pucker Gallery in Boston As of 2021 72 artists had received 1 080 000 in grants The Fellowships are awarded every two years The Boston Foundation maintains information on the fund and fellowships that includes rosters of current and past fellows Exhibitions and honors EditNational Endowment for the Arts Grant 1983 Retrospective Exhibition Erie Art Museum Erie PA 1990 Retrospective Exhibition Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax Nova Scotia 1991Known collections EditAidekman Art Center Tufts University Medford MA Allen Art Museum Oberlin College Oberlin OH Art Complex Museum Duxbury MA http www artcomplex org Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Halifax Nova Scotia Canada Art Institute of Chicago Chicago IL Bunting Institute Radcliffe College Cambridge MA Canadian Museum of Civilization Hull Quebec Canada Carnegie Museum of Art Pittsburgh PA Chrysler Museum of Art Norfolk VA Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland OH Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum Smithsonian Institution New York NY Davis Museum and Cultural Center Wellesley College Wellesley MA Dimock Gallery George Washington University Washington DC Everson Museum of Art Syracuse University Syracuse NY Fleming Museum University of Vermont Burlington VT Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Cambridge MA Framingham State University Framingham MA Hokkaido University Hokkaido Japan Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles CA The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York NY 1 Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI note on acquisition Museum of Fine Arts Boston MA Phoenix Art Museum Phoenix AZ Portland Museum of Art Portland ME Pucker Gallery Boston MA Roberson Museum and Science Center Binghamton NY The Rose Art Museum Brandeis University Waltham MA Royal Ontario Museum Toronto Ontario Canada Santa Barbara Museum of Art Santa Barbara CA St Lawrence University Canton New York Smithsonian American Art Museum Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Israel The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art Haifa Israel University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Vatican Collection Rome Italy Victoria and Albert Museum London England Windsor Castle Windsor England Worcester Art Museum Worcester MA note on acquisition Yale University New Haven CTBibliography Edit Ceramics of Weston Priory Brother Thomas by Thomas Brother O S B Henning Robert Jr Curated By Publisher George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Springfield MA Date Published 1980 Exhibition Catalogue 79 pp illus some col 23 cm Exhibition held at the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum Springfield Massachusetts June 1 September 7 1980 The Path to the Beautiful Published in Boston by David R Godine Publishers http godine com 1988 ISBN 0 87923 699 X Biographical Film Gifts From the Fire Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 1991 New York Times Movie Review Gifts From the Fire Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery 1993 Creation out of Clay Published in Boston by Pucker Gallery 1999 Celebrate the Days Brother Thomas Book of Days Pucker Art Publications 2000 This is the Day Work and Words of Brother Thomas Pucker Art Publications Syracuse University Press 978 0 8028 6312 6 2007Quotes Edit Art is meant to open the human heart to truth and beauty goodness and unity It is like a finger pointing to the moon It is not the finger that is important it is the moon First you do what is necessary then you do what is possible and before you know it you are doing the impossible The thing we all strive for is to shape our humanity in the image of God to do good stand up for what is true create what is beautiful and live for what unites and does not divide Images EditPucker Gallery An image gallery Brother Thomas Small lidded vase with celadon glaze ca 1980 The Art Museum Image Consortium Library Vase Flask Form Hunan Tenmoku 1988 Harrison Gallery An image galleryReferences Edit Brother Thomas Black Olive Vase External links EditArtist information page at Pucker Gallery The Brother Thomas Fellowship Awards The Brother Thomas Fellowship Award winners permanent dead link Ceramics Monthly December 2006 A Long and Winding Road to Artistic Success by Richard Busch 4 4 MB PDF document Who s Who Japanese Ceramic Artists Boston Phoenix exhibition review September 2003 Artist information page at The Harrison Gallery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Bezanson amp oldid 1174495913, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
