Brian Rochefort on Ceramics, Los Angeles, and the Art-Design Divide

Brian Rochefort (b. 1985), a Los Angeles-based ceramic artist, discusses his practice in an interview with Irene Biolchini for Artribune. Rochefort combines multiple techniques freely, achieving traditional effects like saggar and anagama firing in a small electric kiln through meticulous methods developed over years. He views his work as a reaction to academic rules. He maintains a clear boundary between art and design, noting that design galleries sell products, not art, and that the two markets are incompatible. Rochefort has lived in Los Angeles for eleven years but says the local ceramics community has not strongly influenced him; he built his own studio to avoid relying on others' kilns. During the pandemic, he traveled to Colombia, Italy, the Amazon (Bolivia and Peru), the Galapagos, Ecuador, Panama, Africa, and Tanzania, which he describes as profound experiences that continue to inspire his work. His sculpture "White Dwarf" (2020) is shown courtesy of Massimo De Carlo.