Born in Beacon, NY in 1963, Paul Briggs has an extensive background in art education, ceramics, and spiritual leadership. Briggs explores issues around social justice through two building processes that are at the fore of his practice: pinch-formed vessels and slab built sculptural forms, which are often vessel-like. He describes his pinching process as being neither additive nor subtractive but expansive.
Paul Briggs’ inspirational sources include nature and the reinterpretation of classical forms. By creating functional and non-functional work, the majority of his sculptures are ceramic; others are mixed media incorporating felt and plywood as well as fired clay.
In 2018, he was awarded a South Eastern Minnesota Arts Council Grant for the installation, Cell Persona: The Impact of Incarceration on Black Lives. Paul is an Artist in Residence at the Harvard Ceramics Program and an Associate Professor of Art Education at MassArt. His latest exhibition in 2021 was “Contemplative Clay,” at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA. He lives and works in Boston, MA.
