Richard Bresnahan

American, b. 1953

Born in Casselton, North Dakota, Richard Bresnahan apprenticed with the Nakazato family—revered Japanese potters with an unbroken lineage of fourteen generations and designated a Living National Treasure—for three-and-a-half years in Karatsu, Japan. The Nakazatos taught Bresnahan traditional techniques and a profound respect for how clay shapes the daily life of the maker. Bresnahan returned to the United States in 1978, and a year later founded the pottery studio at Saint John’s, a Benedictine abbey and university in central Minnesota. He continues to use traditional techniques, employs local clays and firing materials, and maintains an awareness of the potter’s relationship to the local environment.