For more than 10,000 years, people have been shaping clay into brick for use in creating permanent shelter. With increased skill, they used brick to form arches and gateways in complex buildings of different sizes and shapes. Eventually bricks were used to decorate walls and floors, and what had once been a strictly utilitarian item began to take on an aesthetic role.

Current attention to architectural ceramics, the interest in installations, and the advance of public art have transformed brick into an increasingly popular medium. Artists now collaborate with brick factories to...