Bradley Keys | Featured Artist

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Bradley Keys, “Kumiko Prairie Fields Tall Vase With Handles,” 2023

hand carved stoneware, 13 x 7 inches (courtesy of the gallery)

An exploration of the idea of the home as a sanctuary, a space where the prairie finds its way indoors.

Driven by a deep focus on his art and process as well as knowledge of his media, Bradley Keys follows his inspiration to produce sincere works that speak to the strength of design and the contemplation of still, perfect moments.

Keys’ work has always investigated the ways we know, take in, and are affected by our environment.  Inspired by the elements of the world around him, he reconstructs these aspects through his chosen ceramic processes.  With a subtle hand, Zen-like intensity, and a cherished carving tool, Keys offers vessels festooned with carved patterns based on Kumiko, a Japanese woodworking technique.  His love of furniture-making also comes alive with works that speak to life in the prairies and mountains of Alberta.

Bradley Keys started with a degree in Biology, which has informed his ceramic production since graduating from art school.  His work examines the natural world interspersed with built environments.  His elevator storage jars sit gently beside vessels that speak to rivers and mountain peaks.  Trout migrate across platter surfaces filled with streambed references.  A studio potter since 1994, Bradley has returned to the studio full-time after several years as the ceramic technician / instructor at the Alberta College of Art & Design (now Alberta University of Arts) in Calgary.

“I got to work throwing and carving. Dividing up the surface of a pot and carefully carving a repeating pattern was very pleasing indeed. The process is very meditative and there is an intoxicating anticipation in wanting to see the entire surface pattern finished.  Serendipity had provided a solution to the coronavirus; I was thinking more about pots than the pandemic (Keys 2020).”