This week we welcome Brian Ferreira. The Brooklyn-born 30-year-old is an interdisciplinary artist working out of Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus and living in Astoria, Queens.
While studying Biology at Hunter College he began taking painting classes as electives. He became deeply fascinated with ceramics, which led him to fully commit his studies to this art form. This new focus has led him to work in various mediums and techniques of sculpture, including custom classical crown moldings, relief sculptures, and pottery. While working in fine art fabrication, he utilizes the facilities off-hours to produce pottery that has budded into a frantic, all-encompassing obsession one could liken to addiction.
In his words, this journey has been “A long-winded self-study of trusting the process, using errors and mishaps as a springboard for new perspectives, a playful practice, and a deep respect for craft. It takes a lot of trial and error to reach success, and I can be quite picky or hard on myself. In a way, it welcomes the viewer into my inner neuroticism while making work. One defect and I’m ready to start over. A physical manifestation of my inner critic.”
This approach is manifested clearly in the artwork P.O.T., an installation that uses a system of tiers to stratify and rank successes and failures in descending order. Brian also makes works on paper full of kinetic energy and detail that hint at fantastic and historically specific scenes, perhaps a confluence of both. His work is currently on view as part of Game Over, a group show at Soloway Gallery In Williamsburg, Brooklyn through June 16. See more of Brian’s work on his Instagram.
