Red Clay Rambler interviews Ryan W. Kelly

bearded man in a red shirt flanked by the giand heads of Ben Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt. A large papier mache parrot head in lower front.

April 23, 2021

The leading ceramics podcast on Apple podcasts interviews WWU Art & Art History's Ryan Kelly this week.

Kelly works in both clay and papier-mache to make figure sculptures and vessels that are theatrically staged within narrative scenes. Kelly’s exhibition Anxious Assembly is currently on display until May 30 at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia.

Ben Carter and Ryan Kelly talk about the influence of Toby Jugs, specifically a pirate jug that lived in his grandmother’s home that he remade for the exhibition.

In this interview they discuss the influence of puppetry, essentializing facial expressions, and how humor can be an entry point for narrative sculpture.