An avid gardener and sculptor, Bradley Sabin finds inspiration through the nature around him. His intricate ceramic sculptures explore a metaphorical equation between the care and time which is needed to have a flourishing garden and that required for human relationships, which also need to be nurtured and protected to thrive. In his cage-like yet organic wall sculptures, antler-like forms provide the sturdy protection required for hothouse blossoms to safely open. Rough, sugary textures coat the sturdy stems which support velvety and visceral petals. These vibrant yet tentative blooms, not enough for a spilling bouquet but perfect for a tiny bedside vase, give way to the reward of smooth, fleshy, glowing fruits. The austerity of the lattice structure to which the luscious waxy blossoms cling captures nature’s intimate collision between life and death, hardiness and vulnerability, and the eternal renewal of the seasons, when tiny green leaves sprout from seemingly dead wood. Masculine and feminine interweave and feed off of each other. The weight of clay is transformed to the ethereal by Sabin’s winding, floating, budding forms. Luxuriating branches grow not heedlessly but according to some fractal instinct across interior walls, a flamboyant rococo fantasy re-wedded to its honest organic roots. Whether they are plant or animal, some fleshy creature of the coral reef, Sabin’s forms translate nature to speak to the interior, to the human, to bridge inside and outside and transform geometric spaces to something living, hand-touched and alive.
1996
Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
1993
Bachelor of Fine Arts
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2022
Flow, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
2020
Bradley Sabin, Callan Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
2019
Botanica, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
TEFAF Maastricht, Aveline & Quenetain with Voltz Clarke Gallery, Holland
2018
Bradley Sabin: New Work, Callan Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
2017
Solo show, Nurture/Nature, Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR
2015
Nature/Nurture, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
Recent Sculpture, Callan Contemporary, New Orleans, LA
Recent Work, Harrison Gallery, Key West, FL
2014
Voltz Clarke at PULSE, Miami Beach, FL
2008
Second Nature, Soren Christenson Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2007
Second Nature, Dibol Gallery, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
2006
Made in New Orleans – Traveling Exhibition Contemporary Arts Center – New Orleans, LA
Artspace at Shreveport Regional Arts Council – Shreveport, LA
Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AK
Gallery 301 / Center for the Living Arts, Mobile, Alabama
New Work (Solo), Soren-Christensen Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Cross-section (solo), Dana Center Gallery, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
Wallflowers, Bradbury Gallery, University of Arkansas
Nurturall (Solo), Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
2003
V.A.V.C. Selects, Collins C. Diboll Gallery, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
No Dead Artists, Jonathon Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2002
Essential Oppositions, Carroll Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
2001
Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, OR
Feats of Clay, Lincoln Arts, Lincoln, CA
Content, Ann Connelly Fine Art, Baton Rouge, LA
2000
Nurture/Nature (solo), Isaac Delgado Gallery, Delgado
Community College, New Orleans, LA
Nurture/Nature (solo), Sweatshop Exhibition Space, New York, NY
Nurture/Nature (solo), Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
1999
Portland Center for Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR
Feats of Clay, Juror Michael Lucero, Lincoln Arts, Lincoln, CA
New Work (solo), Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
1998
Nurtured Flora, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
Ceramics USA 1998, Juror David Shaner, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
Feats of Clay, Lincoln Arts, Lincoln, CA
1997
Art for Arts Sake (Invitational), New Orleans School of Glassworks, New Orleans, LA
Recent Ceramic Sculpture, Baton rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
Faculty Exhibition, Interlochen center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI
Baton Rouge Green Foundation (Invitational), Old State Capitol Building, Baton Rouge, LA
Beaumont Art League, Brown and Scurlock Galleries, Beaumont, TX
1996
Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Foster Gallery, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Juxtapose This (Invitational), Plan B gallery, Memphis, TN
Faculty Exhibition, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen, MI
1995
Ceramics USA 1995, Juror Val Cushing
Center for the Visual Arts, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
NCECA Clay National, Jurors Robert Archambeau, Patricia McDonnell, Judy Onofrio
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
1994
LSU Ceramics, Past and Present, Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, New Orleans, LA
NCECA Juried Student Exhibition, Isaac Delgado Gallery, New Orleans, LA
