Chris Riccardo at The Art Spirit Gallery

To be joined by additional distinguished ceramic artists

• Opening Reception on Friday, Feb. 13 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Artist Demonstration on Saturday, Feb. 14 starting at 1 p.m.

Chris Riccardo received his BFA in sculpture from the College of Fine Arts at Boston University in 1990. In 1995, Chris went on to open his own commercial bronze-casting foundry, RDK Studios in West Palm Beach, FL. It is there that Riccardo honed his skills and began teaching figurative sculpture at the nearby Armory Art Center. Shortly after, he decided to sell his foundry and concentrate on his work and teaching.  In 2007, Chris was named the Director of the Sculpture Department and Foundry Manager.

More recently, Chris has joined again with artist Beth Cavener Stichter in Helena to create the Studio 740 – housed in a 98 year old seed and feed warehouse. It is here that Chris is working to develop his new vision of work, "My head is swimming with insecurities and feelings that sometimes make it an uncomfortable place to be. I want my viewers to share in this discomfort, to really feel what it is like to spend a minute in my mind. If one walks away from my work and feels somewhat violated, excited, intrigued, and maybe even a little happier, then they truly know who I am, and I have succeeded."

The Art Spirit Gallery is proud to bring new works to the public, and showcase the process and visions that make Chris Riccardo's work take shape.

Joining Riccardo will be additional distinguished ceramic artists, including a few from the 'Ceramic Mafia' (as they are known in Helena, MT). Ceramicist's Giselle Hicks (Studio 740), along with Maggie Finlayson, Tom Jaszczak & Chuck Aydlett, (past & current Archie Bray residents).

• Giselle Hicks - Originally from California, I received my BFA from Syracuse University and my MFA from NYSCC of Ceramics at Alfred University in New York. I've participated in various artist-in-residence programs including the Anderson Ranch Art Center, the Arts/Industry Program at the Kohler Company, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia and The Archie Bray Foundation. My work has been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Belger Arts Center in Kansas City, The John Michael Kohler Art Center and The Bellevue Art Museum and the Southwest School of Art.

• Maggie Finlayson – Maggie grew up in Ontario, Canada, and completed her undergraduate studies in Ceramics in British Columbia and Alberta Canada. She has participated in residency programs at The Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and Medalta Pottery, and recently completed her Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Her sculptural work uses simple and familiar materials – clay, iron, wood, leather, hair and bone, etc., to examine the impact of everyday objects in our lives.
  
  
• Tom Jaszczak -Tom received a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Bemidji State University. After graduating, Tom apprenticed at Mill Creek Pottery for a year and learned the process of wood firing. Following he was an artist in Resident at the Cub Creek Foundation. Tom grew up in Minneapolis, MN and returned in 2010 where he was the recipient of a Jerome Project Grant through the Northern Clay Center and a Minnesota Arts Board Grant. He has been an assistant to Tara Wilson and a summer resident at The Armory Art Center in Florida and the Archie Bray Foundation. Most recently he started a Long Term residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT and has been focusing on developing a red earthenware soda fired body of work.
• Chuck Aydlett - Chuck received his training from the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University (BFA '84, MFA '90). Recent exhibitions include "Literally and Figuratively" (Santa Fe Clay), "Transcending the Figure" (Dairy Barn Art Center), and the "Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition" (Northern Clay Center). Examples of his most recent work can be seen in both Ceramics, Art and Perception (Issues 76 &78, 2009) and Ceramics Monthly (Jan, 2010). Chuck has been on faculty at Pennsylvania State University ('91-'98), and Winona State University ('00-'09). Presently Chuck manages the Clay Business at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.