Fred Brander’s Passion

A new Mexican folk art gallery opens at Brander Winery by “El Rey” de Sauvignon Blanc

By Leslie A. Westbrook

Photos by Corina Schweller

Fred Brander has been making wines in Santa Ynez Valley since 1977. Most people know Brander for his sublime, award-winning Sauvignon Blanc, which won Santa Barbara County’s first gold medal at a major wine competition. His dependably elegant white wine has continued to earn many more awards and accolades over the decades. But the winemaker might just become as well known for another reason: his new Mexican folk art museum that opened in November.

It’s no surprise that Brander has amassed an amazing, unique collection of Mexican folk art, with an emphasis on ceramics, since import/export is in his blood. His Swedish grandfather, Fritz, made his mark bringing cobblestones from Sweden to Argentina and Argentine wheat to Scandinavia.

Consisting of over 900 pieces, the new Brander Museum of Folk Art is set in an 8,000-square-foot space open by appointment at the winery.

His passion began 15 years ago when Brander took a Santa Barbara Museum of Art tour to Oaxaca, Puebla, and Chiapas. He found a correlation between winemaking and ceramic pieces also from “the soil” that showcase the fingerprints of each maker, “just like a winemaker’s imprint is shown in their wines,” he said.

Brander returned many times to Mexico over the years, to different parts of the country, collecting gourds and ceramics in Michoacán and discovering “concurso” competition masks during Day of the Dead in Patzcuaro.

Many of these folk art traditions go back centuries if not millennia (with ceramics), utilizing techniques that have been passed down throughout the ages. From intricately crafted punchbowls mimicking pineapples, featuring pastiche technique, to whimsical dioramas that tell the story of human existence, each piece is unique and finely wrought.

Over the past few years Brander has hosted a Mercado de Artesanos in August, bringing artisans and craftspeople north from the Artesano show in Tijuana and San Diego.

About half of the museum pieces are attributed to their maker and place of origin, like Consuela Rendon’s “Tres Platos,” made in homage to Picasso. Half of the artisans are unknown, but the region is identified for viewers.

The Brander Museum of Folk Art at Brander Winery, 2401 N Refugio Rd, Santa Ynez www.brander. com phone: (805) 688-2455. Open by appointment between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.