Artist Statement
I utilize the traditional doll format of ceramic head, hands, and feet with a cloth body to create large-scale ceramic sculptures that employ found objects within the narrative. The mending of clothes and the construction of dwellings are two crafts handed down to me through my parents’ and grandparents’ way of life. Growing up in a very poor, rural environment, these crafts were required skills for the survival of my family and are integral to my identity. These hard and soft materials/methods have come to represent the traditionally feminine and masculine facets of my upbringing. The clay in my sculptures (a combination of both) has come to symbolize myself within this trifecta.
I use found objects associated with my rural culture to represent the various bits of influence and information that have shaped my outlook. The characters in my work often fail to understand the intended purpose of the objects with which they interact. I find this misuse analogous to how past information can be misinterpreted based on present need, a type of cognitive dissonance from which we all suffer.
I feel the need to question how and why I think the way that I do. I cannot begin to understand or connect with the world around me until I understand the lenses through which I look. Incorporating materials and processes that I associate with the informative years of my life is the most effective way for me to question the cultural lenses given to me in those same years.
Vitae
Current Position
Assistant Professor of Art, Miami University, Oxford Ohio
Residencies
2017-19 Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana
2016 Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
2015 Zhenrutang A.I.R., Jingdezhen, China
Education
2013-2016 M.F.A. Ceramics Candidate University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
2010-2012 Post-Baccalaureate in Ceramics Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana
1996-2001 Bachelor of Fine Arts University of Tennessee, Martin Martin, Tennessee
Additional University Teaching Experience
2019-21 Assistant Professor of Art, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX
2013-16 Instructor of Record, Ceramics I, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
2015 Guest Lecturer, Korean Ceramics History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
2012 Adjunct Instructor, Ceramics I & 2, Hanover College, Hanover, IN
Awards/Recognitions
2020 Recipient, Work of Distinction, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art
2019 James Renwick Alliance Chrysalis Award for Emerging Artist
2018 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist Award
2017 Zanesville Prize For Contemporary Ceramics Finalist
2016 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, Sculpture Magazine.
2015 Finalist, 2015 National MFA Competition
2014 Best in Show, Concordia Continental Ceramics Competition 5, St. Paul, MN
2013 Clyde Bonebrake and Ward Lockwood Art Scholarship, The University of Kansas
2012 Honorable Mention, Flash Point International Wood Fire
Publications as author
James, R.W. (2019) Crating Large Sculptures, Ceramics Monthly. January, pp. 51-54.
James, R.W. (2017) The Work of Russell Wrankle, Ceramics: Art and Perception. #105, pp. 4-9.
James, R.W. (2017). The Unifying Language of Clay in a Complicated World, Ceramics: Technical, #105, pp. 58-61
James, R.W. (2015). He Said, She Said. Ceramics: Art and Perception, June.
James, R.W. (2013). Low firing with wood. Ceramics Monthly. June/July/August, pp. 58–62.
Publications as feature
Cordova, C (2022). The Figure in Clay, Quarry Books: Beverly, Maine.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. (2020, October). Arrowmont Craft Conversations: Richard W.
James, Ceramics artist [video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=396369455101922&external_log_id=634965c0-da1c-431d-9670-1fa48e59c048&q=arrowmont
O’Neill, N. (2020). Richard W. James, JRA Quarterly. Summer 2020, p. 13
Smith, A. (2019) Richard W. James Receives James Renwick Alliance 2019 Chrysalis Award. Hi-Fructose Art Magazine, (https://hifructose.com/2019/10/04/richard-w-james-receives-james-renwick-alliance-2019-chrysalis-award/)
Knapp, J. (2019). Grounded, Ceramics Monthly. Volume 67, number 7. September, p. 57
Knapp, J. (2019). Exposure, Ceramics Monthly. Volume 67, number 3. March, p. 20.
Knapp, J. (2018). Emerging Artist, Ceramics Monthly. Volume 66, number 5. May, p. 39
Stellaccio, A. (2018). Ceramic Excellence, Archie Bray Foundation Publication. October, p. 6-7
Knapp, J. (2018). Exposure, Ceramics Monthly. Volume 66, number 1. January, p. 18.
Smith, A. (2017) The Unsettling Ceramic Sculptures of Richard W. James. Hi-Fructose Art Magazine, (http://hifructose.com/2017/06/20/the-unsettling-ceramic-sculptures-of-richard-w-james/)
Ramos, O. (2017). Conversation with Richard W. James, Work Untitled. 2017 Q3.
Knapp, J. (2017). Exposure, Ceramics Monthly. March, p. 20.
Hutchison, J. (2016). The International Sculpture Center 2016 Outstanding Student Achievement
in Contemporary Sculpture Awards, Sculpture Magazine. October, p. 52.
Salamoni, A. (2014). Wood-fired Ceramics: 100 Contemporary Artists, Schiffer Publishing: Atglen, Pennsylvania.
Invited Visiting Artist Workshops and Artist Presentations
2023 Purdue University- Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN
2023 University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
2022 Ohio University, Athens, OH
2022 Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
2020 Fort Hays University, Hays, KS
2020 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
2019 Edinboro University, Edinboro, PA
2018 Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
2017 Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN
2015 University of Tennessee, Martin, TN
2015 Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS
Presentations/Lectures
2022 Lecturer, DAAP School of Art Visiting Artist and Scholar Series Speaker, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2020 Panel Moderator, Matter Matters, Oso Bay Biennial, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, TX
2019 Lecturer, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC
2019 Lecturer, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO
2018 Presenting Artist and Panelist, Figurative Association: The Human Form Symposium, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
National Workshop Teaching Experience
2022 National Workshop Instructor, The Figure Dissected, Two-Week Workshop,
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2021 National Workshop Instructor, Underneath the Surface: Understanding the Human Form
Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ
2021 National Workshop Instructor, Human Figure: Heads and Hands
Touchstone Center for the Crafts, Farmington, PA
2019 National Workshop Instructor, Human Figure: Heads, Hands, and Feet,
The Archie Bray Foundation for the Arts, Helena, MT
2019 National Workshop Instructor, The Figure Dissected, Two-Week Workshop
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2019 National Workshop Instructor, Creating Portraits in Clay, Craft Alliance Center of Arts and
Crafts, St. Louis, MO
2018 Presenting Artist/Workshop Instructor, Figurative Association: The Human Form
Symposium, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Selected Group and Solo Exhibitions
2023 Strange Days, Two-person show with Tom Bartel, Clay Street Press, Cincinnati, OH
2023 Earth Transformed; Ceramic Artist Exhibition, Rosewood Arts Center, Kettering, OH
2023 Ohio Formed, Miami University Art Museum, Oxford, OH
2022 Instructor Exhibit, Knoxville Arrowmont Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2022 Thinking with Animals, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH
2022 Detritus – The Work of Richard W. James, Miami University Fine Arts Gallery, Oxford, OH
2022 David McBeth and Alumni, Dept. of Visual Arts and Theater Fine Arts Gallery, Martin, TN
2021 New Work From Richard W. James, Red Lodge Clay, Red Lodge, MT
2021 Contemporary Ceramics, The Dairy Barn, Athens, OH
2021 Thinking with Animals, Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH
2021 TAMUCC 3D: Current Works, Victoria College Art Gallery, Victoria, TX
2021 Sculpture International 2021, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
2021 Faculty Biennial, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
2021 Apophenia, Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, TX
2020 First International Joint Art Exhibition (virtual), Bagdad, Iraq
2020 Touchstone Instructors Exhibit, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Baltimore, MD
2020 Black Lives Matters Art Auction, LUX Art Center, Lincoln, NE
2020 23rd San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo, TX
2020 Icon, Rockport Center for the Arts, Rockport, TX
2020 Touchstone Instructors Exhibit, Saville Gallery, Cumberland, MD
2020 Narrative Offerings, Verde Gallery, San Marcos, TX
2019 June, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO
2019 Arrowmont Instructor Exhibit, Sandra J. Blain Gallery, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2019 Archie Bray Foundation Resident Exhibition, Warehouse Gallery, Helena, MT
2019 Second Year Fellowship Exhibition, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
2019 Resident Artist Exhibition, (NCECA 2018 Listed Exhibition), Creators Space, St. Paul, MN
2019 Animals Among Us, Red Lodge Gallery, Red Lodge, MT
2018 Current Profile, Craft Alliance Center for Art and Design, St. Louis, MO
2018 Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair, Jingdezhen International Ceramic Institution, Jingdezhen, China
2018 Figurative Association: The Human Form Symposium, Sandra J. Blain Gallery, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2018 Raise a Glass - A Contemporary Response to Animal-Shaped Vessels of the Ancient World, Gallery 224, Harvard Office for the Arts, Allston, MA
2018 Archie Bray First Year Fellowship Artist Exhibition, Bray Warehouse Gallery, Helena, MT
2018 Archie Bray Resident Artist Exhibition, Bray Warehouse Gallery, Helena, MT
2018 Permeant Residency, Cohen Gallery, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA
2018 Found Again, Manchester Craftsman’s Guild, Pittsburg, PA
2018 Ceramic Sculpture Culture: Unifying the Narrative Figure, David L. Lawrence, Pittsburgh, PA
2018 Tall Tales, College of Southern Maryland - Tony Hungerford Memorial Gallery, La Plata, MD
2018 The Persistence of the Residuum, Eutectic Gallery, Portland, OR
2017 Archie Bray Resident Show, Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, Spokane, WA
2017 Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics, Zanesville, OH
2017 Ceramic Sculpture Culture, James May Gallery, Algoma, WI
2017 Habitual, Roswell Clay, Atlanta, GA
2017 Un//known, Sandra J. Blain Gallery, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2016 Ceramic Sculpture Culture, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
2016 okay., Wolpert Gallery, Arrowmont, Gatlinburg, TN
2016 International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement Awards In Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, Grounds for Sculpture Museum, Hamilton, NJ
2016 The Arrowmont Experience, The Emporium, Knoxville, TN
2016 Richard W. James Thesis Exhibition, KU Art and Design Gallery, Lawrence, KS
2016 Generations, Filipino Cultural Center, Overland Park, KS
2015 Intimate Object XI, Charlie Cummings Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2015 2015 M.F.A. National Exhibition, First Street Gallery, New York, NY
2015 The Seven Colors, Other Gallery, Jingdezhen, China
2015 New China From China, Milano Art EXPO, Italy
2014 Concordia Continental Ceramics Competition 5, Concordia Gallery, St. Paul, MN
2014 2014 World Cup Tournament, Hyart Gallery, Madison, WI
2014 Way of the Tea Bowl, Plenum Space Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2013 Lets Talk About Love Baby, Sculpture X, Columbus, OH
2013 Singularities, West Street Art Gallery (2-person, lecture), Madison, IN
2013 Lets Talk About Love Baby, Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis, IN
2012 Flash Point, Plinth Gallery, Denver, CO
2011 In Lieu, Hanover College Greiner Art Gallery (2-person, lecture), Hanover, IN
2011 Detritus, West Street Art Gallery (solo), Madison, IN
2010 Our Own Backyard, Grenier Art Gallery, Hanover, IN
2008 Untitled, Studio 310 (solo), Madison, IN
Permanent Collections
Homunculus, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT
Mannerisms and Proclivities #1, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramics Arts
Bank Bag Doll #1, Kolva-Sullivan Collection, Spokane, WA
The House the Bill Built, ceramic and wood sculpture, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Permanent Collection, Gatlinburg, TN
Punch and Judy, mixed media sculpture, Porter-Price Collection, Columbia, SC
Inside Study # 3, porcelain sculpture, Zhenrutang Permanent Collection, Jingdezhen, China
The Horn Blower, mixed media sculpture, Martha Vida Collection, The Marks Project Permanent Collection, RI
Professional Organizations
Shape Theory Collective
National Council of Education of Ceramic Arts (NCECA)
Texas Sculpture Group (TSA)
Mid-South Sculpture Alliance (MSA)
International Sculpture Center (ISC)