I Make People Out Of Bricks

The integration of sculpture into architecture has always intrigued me. Sculptors have historically found ways to carve or mold various building materials into incredible works of art that in many ways define a culture.

Living in the clay rich Carolinas, USA provides plenty of soil suitable for brick making and brick sculpture. The Ishtar Gates of Babylon are the historical standard and even though we live in a technology-driven world, my process is the same as the Babylonians. I carve unfired clay bricks, fire them at around 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and reassemble them with mortar like any other brick structure. I love the idea of shaping ancient, eroded stone into images our history, our environment and our very selves, then returning it to stone through the firing process.

A wonderful thing about public art is that it intersects our daily lives and inspires personal interaction and interpretation. My work has been called perplexing, illusive and sometimes even ghostly. I think that choosing to be a public artist is a lofty ambition and an enormous responsibility.

I concentrate on high relief and fully 3-dimensional sculptures, pushing the material’s limitations and expanding the viewer’s perception of what brick can be. People are my favorite subject with all of their subtleties of gesture and expression. To capture the essence of a living being in a cold, industrial building material is my biggest challenge and greatest joy.

More info: bradspencersculptor.com