First Friday: May 2025 - Pencil it in
Inspiration & Updates from Brian Madden Studio
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
― Mother Teresa of Calcutta, inspired by Dr. Kent M. Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments
Hi friends,
Writing to you each month has been a great outlet for sharing recaps on completed projects and events, but I’m especially energized when there’s something on the horizon to share.
When I work on projects for brands like NFL and EA Sports, the work is often done in secret until the big reveal. So the opportunity to show my personal artwork at the Heath Ceramics SF showroom on June 5 is a chance to bring you into the process of bringing the work to life.
In this May edition, I’m excited to share:
WHAT I’M MAKING: Heath Ceramics June 5 Group Show Process
WHAT I’M SCREENING: Water and Stone, by Jezrael Gandara
WHAT I’M SEEING: London, Milan, Dublin
WHAT I’M READING: Brian, by Jeremy Cooper
WHAT I’M HEARING: Healing Song
You’re receiving First Friday because you’ve supported my creativity, visited the studio, or otherwise signed up to stay in touch.
Thanks for being here.
WHAT I’M MAKING: Heath Ceramics June 5 Group Show Process
I’m excited to be showing 3 new pieces from my Sonic Monuments series in the upcoming Heath Ceramics group exhibition. The show is part of Heath’s Design Made Good month, and will consist of a curated group of artists whose work reflects a fresh and unique approach to their medium. The work will be featured in the Heath gallery space in their San Francisco Showroom, and will run June 5-22. I’d love to see you at the opening reception on June 5 from 5-7pm, or throughout the exhibition.
But first, I’d like to share some of the steps in my own artistic process as we bring the work to life. I usually start my creative process with hand sketching and quick studies. Lately I’ve enjoyed using colored pencils for concepting, much like my art and design icons Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, and Massimo and Lella Vignelli.
As the design process for a piece progresses, my concept sketches tighten up into digital mockups and 3D models to visualize the complete pieces and explore production plans. Digital renderings of 3D models like this one provide a realistic way to envision and develop projects with clients, curators, and fabricator partners.
The images below reflect my exploration of a marble inlay Sonic Monument, an ambitious concept exploring sound through revolved stone.
And if you’ve visited my studio, you’ve probably seen the pair of brass candlesticks, Sonic Monuments to Anaïs Nin. I’m excited to continue exploring brass for the show with the next iteration in the series, Sonic Monument to the Risk of Remaining Tight in a Bud:
Keep an eye out for more info about the upcoming group show, which opens June 5, 5-7pm at the Heath SF Showroom. Hope to see you there!
WHAT I’M SCREENING: Water and Stone, by Jezrael Gandara
I’m excited to announce the upcoming premiere of Water and Stone, a mini documentary about my artistic practice, directed by Bay Area-based narrative filmmaker Jezrael Gandara. As a long-time film collaborator and friend, Jezrael has observed my studio practice through the highs and lows while building his career as an accomplished narrative director and cinematographer.
So when Jezrael approached me about creating a narrative short film sharing my story as an artist and an athlete, I knew his creative lens would shine a unique light on my practice. Here’s a teaser:
We’ll be hosting an intimate screening party followed by a Q&A with Jezrael on May 17th from 7-10pm, with pizza and drinks sponsored by my friends at Best Day Brewing.
If you’re in the Bay Area and would like to attend, please RSVP here. For any questions, please reach out to info@brianbmadden.com. And if you’re not in town, no worries - we’ll share the film online soon.
WHAT I’M SEEING: London, Milan, Dublin
Jen and I both love to travel and are fortunate to have many opportunities to travel for work, and we always try to build in time to explore whenever we can. So when Jen had a trip to London and Dublin, and I knew I had to jump in her suitcase and join.
I hadn’t been to either since 2002, so it was great to see London and Ireland through a fresh lens. And when I realized our trip would be overlapping with Milan Design Week, I knew I had to take my own side trip. I studied abroad in Milan and it’s one of my favorite cities, so I’ll take any opportunity to get back.
Here’s a roundup of things that inspired me on the trip. Hope you find something in them too. If you have any questions or want recommendations, feel free to reach out.
London
Forgotten Streams by Cristina Iglesias
Watching red double deckers pass by a busy pub in the financial center, I was struck by this tear in the urban fabric, revealing a muddy river bed. This incredibly detailed cast bronze and granite public art installation was based on the ancient Walbrook river that flowed here before London existed.
Alexander Calder - Made in Guatemala at The Gallery of Everything
Near the Monocle store in Marylebone, we ducked into a gallery showing a treasure trove of Alexander Calder’s work. Created to sell at auction to benefit the victims of the 1973 Nicaraguan Earthquake, the Maguey (Agave) fiber tapestries and hammock were made in collaboration with Central American craftspeople based on a selection of Calder’s drawings. It showed a more communal and humanitarian side of Calder’s practice than I had ever seen before. I’m always inspired by artists who work across different media as someone who loves to experiment with different media in my own practice.
Louise Bourgeois’ Maman at Tate Modern
For years, I’ve hoped to make a pilgrimage to the iconic turbine hall at the massive Tate modern art museum, which has been the host to monumental installations from artists like Olafur Eliasson. There was a poetic presence to the solitary sculpture standing on the bridge, Maman, by Louise Bourgeois. Looking at this bronze spider with marble eggs, which the artist created in her 90s to highlight her relationship with her mother, I felt a deep respect for the artist’s prolific lifelong practice.
Milan
The Power of the Volcano through Matter, Sound, and Space – Ranieri at Alcova / Sina Varedo
Anytime I go to il Salone del Mobile, aka Milan Design week, I keep an eye out for Alcova. Alcova is a design festival known for activating neglected or otherwise unorthodox spaces to curate and showcase a diverse range of avant-garde and eye-opening designers and brands. Spread out between a handful of locations in Varedo, a short regional train ride from Milan, I was particularly struck by the Sina Varedo location, a once globally mighty synthetic textile factory. I specifically liked this experience by Ranieri, highlighting their architectural finishes, tiles, and furniture inspired by the power of the volcano.
PAN x Nike: The Suspended Hour
It seems to be my duty as a Nike alum to seek out their Milan design week activations. Nike partnered with PAN, DJ & curator Bill Kouligas, and Niklas Bildstein Zaar to highlight their sneaker collaboration as part of Capsule Plaza, perhaps the most avant-garde of the experiences I visited. The collaboration was inspired by the exploration of the club as a place of ritual and sound archaeologies. The Milano activation was based on a dream of the DJ, with massive glass speakers custom designed and installed in collaboration with an architecture firm in a warehouse space, and of course, an inflatable. The European club scene seems to be driving a lot of creative expression lately and I noticed more sound based work in Milan this year from brands like Vans and Stone Island. It’s a welcome return to real, interactive, and interpersonal experiences in this increasingly digital world.
Ireland
Cliffs of Moher
After a couple days working in Dublin, Jen and I hit the road for western Ireland to explore our ancestral homelands and drive a bit of the Wild Atlantic Way. We headed for the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, and I was reminded of visiting this epic coastline back in 2002 with my family. It was Jen’s first time and the weather was appropriately moody. We had fun recreating a photo her mom Janice had taken over 40 years ago when she was visiting. And what struck me most of all was the lichen that had taken over the rocks in the years between the two photos. The evidence of the passage of time was almost as striking to me as the sight of the cliffs themselves were.
Here’s a little phrase Janice, the Compost Queen of Cohasset, once told us to understand how lichen grows:
Alice Algae & Freddy Fungus took a Lichen to one another.
Don’t worry, there’s Moher where that came from.
WHAT I’M READING: Brian, by Jeremy Cooper
This month’s book initially felt too self-indulgent for my blood. When Jen pointed it out to me at Daunt Books in London, I was reluctant, but decided to give it a shot. And when I brought it to the register, the cashier said it was a great book and she really loved it. A reviewer from the Guardian said it was the best book she had read in a decade. And now I’m loving it too.
A semi-autobiographical fiction novel, it’s a slow, melodic read that documents a solitary middle-aged London clerical worker’s act of defiance from his otherwise mundane life. It’s also a sneaky compendium of film reviews by the author, written fully from memory in 2021, based on his own decades of visits to National Film Theatre cinemas in the 1980s. Jeremy Cooper takes the time to carefully describe and critique the films, as much from Brian and his fellow buff’s perspectives as his own. Reading this interview with the author, I was struck by how autobiographical to the author this novel actually is.
Reading about Brian’s experience dipping his toe into the world of film criticism with his fellow buffs reminded me of how it feels to stand on the street outside Bar Basso during Milan Design Week, synthesizing what I’ve seen that day with new and old friends and peers on the street. I’m experiencing it more and more in the art world as well, braving feelings of insecurity to attend gallery openings and talks, meeting more of the community, learning more about the nuances of the artists and the people and the shows happening all the time, all over the world. I suppose the only way to get a better grasp is to go deeper and I’d like to continue deepening my relationship with art for art’s sake while increasing my ability to critique and decipher what I’m seeing.
WHAT I’M HEARING: Healing Song
This month’s songs were overheard under faraway skies, throughout London, Milan, Dublin, San Francisco, and Detroit. They were my soundtrack to moments of calm reflection and cathartic crescendo as I entered the outer orbit of my artistic trajectory.
These First Friday playlists can only consist of songs I’ve heard, received, discovered, or rediscovered out in the world, at coffee shops, restaurants, bars, gallery exhibits, stores. They can also be received from friends and family, IRL and online. We do take requests.
Take care and talk soon,
Brian
brian@brianbmadden.com
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During our drive through the west of Ireland, someone remarked to Jen and me how special it was that our ancestors had come from neighboring regions there, we found our way to each other across the ocean, and eventually found our way back again, together. And as luck would have it, reminiscing on that thought, I drifted a bit left and gave us a flat tire on the gravel. Luckily a kind potato farmer driving by in his tractor stopped to lend a hand.
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
— Marcus Aurelius, from The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holliday