Michael Morgan
Kensington Apotheosis #19, 2024
Ceramic sherds, resin
10-1/2 x 8 x 6"

Artist Statement
During the past few years, I have been systematically digging up the alley behind my property, which was the site of a dump from mid 19th century to mid 20th century . My finds sometimes include old ceramic pipes and dolls, but the vast majority of objects I have found are mismatched pieces of broken ceramic objects. I decided to give these discarded, broken, long forgotten, buried pieces of ceramic trash a new life. I call this series of work "Apotheosis". By creating objects from these sherds, the rubbish of the past is transformed into a series of small scale assemblages. These sculptures borrow from the Japanese practice of kintsugi, in that they embrace the marks of wear as part of the whole life of the object. The break is celebrated as one more event in the life of the ceramic object. Similarly, I fix these broken sherds together using a shiny, precious looking material to illuminate each broken piece. Where my work differs from kintsugi is that I am making sculptures from disparate ceramic sherds that ascend, swirl, or even appear to dance. I am animating the buried trash of yesterday. This is the 22nd sculpture in that series.

Artist Bio
I am a ceramic sculptor, originally from Portsmouth, England. I completed my BA (Hons) in Ceramics in 1988, at The Polytechnic Wolverhapton UK, where I first began to develop my interest in using Brick as a sculptural medium. I was a Resident artist at The Clay Studio, in Philadelphia from 1988-90. I received my MFA Ceramics at University of Nebraska Lincoln in 1993. Until this year I taught Ceramics at Rutgers University in Camden NJ.

I have completed many brick sculptures for both public and private clients throughout the USA and UK. I live in Philadelphia PA, where I continue to make a living as a practicing artist. My work has been featured in a number of publications such as Neue Keramik, American Craft, Ceramics Monthly, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architect, Rockland Magazine and Dallas Morning News.

I work with brick as my primary medium. We are all familiar with this geometric building unit, so if it is used to create sculpture it can help us see the specialness of the everyday world.

I also make sculptural assemblages from ceramic sherds that I have excavated.

brickworksmichaelmorgan.com

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