Heather Kaplan, Cloud Community, 2014, ceramic.
This Saturday, North High Street’s ROY G BIV Gallery will be holding its opening reception for exhibits by Heather Kaplan and Ryan W. Kelly from 7 to 10 p.m.
Kaplan’s fascination with the art of play and childlike wonder are evident in her collection of clay figurines. Her creative techniques lead to versatility in the textures and shapes of her sculptures and a wide range of bright and whimsical colors that reinforce the youthful quality of her work. Kaplan is a doctoral candidate at The Ohio State University in the department of arts administration, education and policy. Her work explores such concepts as play, materiality, community and storytelling.
Ryan W. Kelly, Sh*t Yeah Centaur, 2016, ceramic.
Kelly’s work will make you forget you are in a gallery and transport you to a replica domestic space, complete with painted backdrops, furniture, floor clothes, a faux fireplace and intriguing ceramic knickknacks. His installation is driven by the imagined living spaces of the Bloomsbury Group, an early 20th century group of artists, writers and intellectuals including Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Virginia’s sister Vanessa Bell, influential economist John Maynard Keynes and E.M. Forster. Kelly holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and a BFA in ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute. He has spent two years as a visiting professor at OSU and has recently been hired to head the ceramics program at Western Washington University.
The works will be on display June 4-25 at 997 N. High St. The exhibit will be open from 1 to 6 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is free.
Katie Ellington is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
