John Brickels (1953) is a self-taught ceramist that has been creating stoneware clay sculptures for over 30 years. His bisque-fired works describe iconic American architectural structures of the past century, all exhibiting symptoms of decay, decomposition, and decrepitation. His works have been exhibited at the Springfield Museums in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. His sculptures of the Spanish Missions were commissioned by the city of San Antonio and presented to President George W. Bush, Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth, and King Juan Carlos of Spain. He has been awarded countless distinctions over the past 15 years by the South End Arts and Business Association in Burlington, Vermont, and has been the subject of features in Ceramics Monthly and Hemming's Classic Car Magazine.
Brickels’ “Claymobile” sculptures combine vintage toy pedal car/pedal tractor bodies and trompe l’oeil mechanicals sculpted from slab and extruded stoneware clay. Augmenting weathered toy pedal car and pedal tractor bodies with realistic components, Brickels blurs the line between adulthood and childhood. The viewer deciphers whether these sculptures are adult vehicles shrunk to a child’s perspective or a child’s toy amplified into an adult world.
Brickels’ machines acclaim the industrial heritage of his childhood, rust-belt home of Akron, Ohio. His award-winning work is held in many private and corporate collections; has been featured in Ceramic Monthly, American Style Magazine, The Boston Globe, Art and Perception, and The New York Times; and has been exhibited at the the Smithsonian Institute, the Sculpture Objects and Fine Craft Show (SOFA) in New York City, and the International Orton Cone Box Show.
© 2021. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by John Brickels or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| John Brickels |
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| 2 ton Murry |
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| Brewmaster 5000 machine |
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2015, Uptown diner
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Butterfly house
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Butterfly house detail
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| Canal View |
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| 2015, Vertigo Barn |
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| Dashboard |
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| Family robots |
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| Grasshopper house |
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Grasshopper house detail
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2017 3 Car Garage
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| Little Italy |
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| Mill block |
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| Mustang |
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Mustang detail
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| 2017, Abbey Ruin |
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| Mill block |
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Palm Springs house
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Palm Springs house detail
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| 2018, Brownstone |
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| Scooter |
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| Sonar Ma Cheen machine |
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| Spider bot |
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| 2019, Three Sisters |
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| Swiss Miss house |
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Swiss Miss house detail
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| 2020, Trawler |
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| Wall O Bots |
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| Zig Zag house |
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Zig Zag house detail
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