Meet Curt Brill

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Curt Brill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Curt, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

This question of how did I find my purpose has been the most interesting question for me to ponder. I am now in my seventies and I have recently been asking this question of myself and the best answer that I have been able to come up with is that my purpose has in the past and continues to find me….if I am patient enough to allow it to find me.
Early in my career I had abundant energy I don’t think that I had ever asked myself that question. I was moved along on a current of its own momentum. It has been a patchwork whose fabric is now beginning to reveal itself. My father was a man who drove a truck and my mother was a painter who created fantasies. I created clay dinosaurs in elementary school and froze them in their own little ice age domicile in my parent’s freezer. I danced on stage at the New York World’s Fair in 1965. I knew that I wanted to be an artist but never even considered the thought that it was my purpose.
As far as I can tell about finding my purpose, it is to do my best to being open to allowing my purpose to find me and unfold in its own way and at its own pace.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I began exhibiting my artwork while I was still an undergraduate at Cornell University, pursuing my degree in the design department. One of my chosen classes was a pottery class. I was mesmerized and hooked from day one and my career in the arts was launched. I was very fortunate early on in my career to be exposed to work of and the opportunity to meet with some of the greats in the ceramic world. People like Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner and Don Reitz who helped me to explore, trust and pursue my own personal vision. I was fortunate to have been represented by 2 of the top gallerists in this country who were instrumental in helping to transform the consumer mindset from craft as just craft to craft as fine art.
One fateful day, when my dealer in Atlanta, Georgia, Blanche Reeves, called to announce that she had presold my entire show prior to the opening and needed, as she put it, three more of those blue ones, I decided it was time to transition from a clay artist to bronze. And, I have never looked back, until recently when I have once again returned to clay with a revitalized energy.
My bronze works have been represented by the Kouros Gallery in New York, the Sponder Gallery in Miami, Valleyhouse Gallery in Dallas and Sculpturesite in San Francisco and Melissa Morgan Fine Art in Palm Desert California. . My works have made their way into wonderful private. corporate and public collections with the most recent group of three monumental works placed in an IT and corporate setting in the San Francisco Bay area. My work has opened me up, it has helped me to evolve. It has given the opportunity to meet with and spend time with some very insightful, thoughtful and kindhearted creative individuals.
,I have recently been taking a decidedly more introspective approach to my studio life. My bronze work has primarily focused on the figure. My current pursuit has been in developing my skills at drawing landscapes with a fountain pen during my hiking adventures in the mountains and woods and doing wood fired ceramics creating clay forms evocative of more raw vegetative forms. I do tend to be a bit more private lately but my home and studio are open to the public where occasional gatherings of artists of other disciplines, like dance and music and poetry congregate. Visitors from outside the Tucson area are welcome by prior appointment.
I like you for this opportunity to introduce myself….

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

be willing to make mistakes and be wrong
keep a beginners mind
be kind when you can. Be kind to yourself when you think that you can’t
There a Zen saying that goes something like….fall down six times …get up 7
Associate with people who are supportive and encouraging and loving.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

For me it was very important early on in my career to focus on skill building which looked like a pointed and dedicated, and somewhat isolated focus. I am a visual artist so initially it looked like drawing, drawing and more drawing. Being an introvert by nature it was simultaneously a discipline but more importantly a love that I still keep up with. In college it looked like locking myself in the ceramics building late at night and getting on the wheel constantly challenging my skills to go further. When I got to the point in my career where bronze castings were the focus, I needed to work with metal workers who had dedicated their lives to perfecting their metal working skills. I had to learn to give up control, as my prior pursuits were very private, and performed in relative isolation, now I was dependent upon the expertise of others to grow into the next phase of my career…..collaboration went from necessity to intrigue to joy and excitement. Working with others dedicated to and committed to excellence was invigorating. and now I welcome the opportunity to co create.
I have worked with dancers in helping to do some stage sets and costume work, I have worked with landscape architects and architects and poets. Currently I am seeking out painters to partner with 2D images on 3D objects. If there are graffiti artists open to collaborate please contact me directly I am open to ideas from many directions and welcome to see where things may lead. I am also beginning to collaborate with print makers. The best way to reach me is preferably in person but initially, a phone call to Curt Brill 520-888-1775 or through my website www.curtbrill.com

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curtbrill.com
• Instagram: curtbrill