John Michael O’Brien is a ceramic artist based in Houston, Texas. Originally from Chicago, he spent his formative years in Potomac, Maryland, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. He earned a degree in Asian Studies from Colgate University and spent a semester at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. He has lived in various cities across the United States and the Caribbean and now resides in Houston, TX.

His extensive travels around the world continue to inspire and inform his artistic practice. John began working with clay in 2019 as a student at the Glassell School of Art. John’s ceramic work is inspired by his life experiences, extensive travel, and a deep appreciation for diverse cultures. His pieces reflect a thoughtful exploration of form, texture, and surface, often drawing from the places he’s lived and the people and traditions he has encountered along the way. Each work serves as a visual record—an expression shaped by observation, memory, and curiosity.

His work has been featured in many exhibitions, including the 2023 Multiplicity show at The Silos at Sawyer Yards and the Glassell School of Art. His piece The Clay Hypothesis was recognized in Art Houston magazine, which named him an emerging artist to watch. That same year, he received a Juror’s Award at the Glassell School’s annual student exhibition and exhibited in both the Purple exhibition at the Kinder Morgan Building and Ceramics in the Environment at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. The latter show was later installed at the Mercer Botanical Gardens.

In 2024, he returned to Multiplicity with his piece Tritan’s Waltz and was again selected for the Texture exhibition at the Kinder Morgan Building, where he exhibited Windfall. Most recently, in 2025, he was invited to show his Moments series in Encore: 2D/3D Conversations at Monterroso Gallery. That same year, he was featured as a guest artist on the Houston Hour radio show, where he discussed his artistic journey, current projects, and his work as a board member of ClayHouston, a nonprofit supporting the ceramic arts community in the Houston area.