Ceramicists in Montana’s Capital Are Pushing Local Artistry Beyond “Western” Clichés

The former director of Helena’s Archie Bray Foundation points to pottery and large-scale ceramic furniture that represent the region’s evolving design flair.

Text by

Jesse Dorris

Illustrations by

Salini Perera

This story is part of our annual look at the state of American design. This year, we’re highlighting work that shines through an acrimonious moment—and makes the case for optimism.

In 1951, entrepreneur and brickmaker Archie Bray established the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts on the site of a former brickyard in Helena, Montana. Since then, the Bray has established world-class artist residencies and, in the process, nurtured a vibrant ceramics ecosystem in the Western town. "Many artists settled in Montana as a result of their experience at the Bray," says Steven Young Lee, who did a summer residency there in 1998 and came back eight years later to serve as resident artistic director of the program for some 16 years.

That includes names like Deborah Butterfield and John Buck, who both put down roots there. They added their own aesthetic to already-established communities of Native American artists like Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Salish-Kootenai) and Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow) and furniture makers like A. L. Swanson. Together the ceramists are pushing local artistry far beyond the kitsch and romance of "Western" style—all those mounted antlers and leather couches with brass tacks—using an experimental approach.