JEFF REICH directs the Ceramics Department at the Mesa Arts Center, run by the City of Mesa Arts and Cultural Division. Reich’s ceramic work has been exhibited in galleries across the country and Canada. A few of the galleries he has shown with include: Obsidain gallery in Tucson, Arizona, Ceilo Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts; The Detroit Gallery of Contemporary Crafts in Detroit, Michigan; the International Gallery in San Diego, California; The Tucson Museum of Art in Tucson; the Ratliff-Williams gallery in Sedona; and the Mind’s Eye Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. His work has also been in nationally juried shows, and is included in collections such as the Northern Arizona University Art Museum, City of Phoenix Sky Harbor Art Collection, Wrigley Mansion, and the City of Mesa Arts and Cultural permanent art collection. In addition, Jeff has performed during The Gathering concerts. He throws seven- foot tall vessels on the potters’ wheel to the music of pianist, Alex Grant.

Reich received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art education from the University of Arizona in 1984. Upon completing his degree, Reich immediately began working as both a ceramic artist and teacher. He first taught at the Tucson Art Institute, then became a pottery instructor with the Randolph Center and the Agua Caliente Park Art Centers, both located in Tucson. In 1987, Reich accepted the position with the Mesa Arts Center and has built a national reputation for the pottery studio.

His newest work relates in vessel form the challenges of balancing relationships, career and family. His thrown, angled, sectioned and recombined forms of teapots, jars, and sculptural vessels are influenced by the growth and drought patterns found in desert plants. He is intrigued with the transplantation of desertscapes and the relationship to humans. Reich believes that the natural elements he finds around him are the biggest influence in his work. “ I grew up in Michigan, surrounded by water”, he says. “ Later, when I moved to southern Arizona, I was surrounded by mountains. I try to capture that in my work by my choice of color, glazes and vessel format.

Jeff works at Indigo Street Pottery with fellow artist Farraday Newsome. They live in the Sonoran desert of East Mesa, Arizona with Jeff’s three children, Lauren, Deanna, and Joshua and their excitable golden retriever, Penny.