Biography
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Carly Riegger is from Ann Arbor, Michigan where she took a strong interest in ceramics in high school. She is currently working on a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Ceramics at Indiana University Southeast. In Spring of 2020, she received a BFA in Studio Art, with a specialization in Ceramics at Bowling Green State University. In 2018, Carly traveled abroad to Florence, Italy and studied for a semester at Studio Arts International College. This experience greatly enhanced her artistic skills. During her time abroad, Carly was awarded the Jules Maidoff Award for Fall 2018. She, additionally, participated in BGSU’s Clay Club and BGSU’s D.R.E.A.M. Club which stands for Disability Rights, Education, Advocacy, and Mentoring. She worked in panels explaining and teaching others about disability, and even explaining her own pain in discussions around the campus. During summers for four years, Carly assisted in running the glaze and kiln lab at a studio called Ceramics Clayland & Art Studio in Gregory, Michigan. Her senior year she received the James W. Strong Outstanding Senior Award and the James W. Strong Studio Achievement Award for her service and participation in BGSU’s School of Art. In her final BFA Thesis Exhibition, she depicted her own chronic pain in small scenes using her ceramic dolls. She is dedicated to continuing her work advocating for those with disabilities as she moves forward in her ceramic art.
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Artist Statement
I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) after starting to feel pain in my body in 2012. This illness causes severe widespread pain located in my connective tissue which debilitates my day to day life. The world’s awareness of disability is minimal and it’s awareness of chronic illness is even less. I receive daily comments that often offend me and my body. Every time I go out with a mobility aid, I hear things like: “What happened to you?” and “You gotta gimp?” Others are uncomfortable, confused, and not afraid to question the validity of my disability.
In my artwork, I tell stories using the dolls to portray the feeling of chronic pain and invisibility. These micro-vignettes portray daily life scenes of the chronically ill. Red knots of thread stitch the ceramic to the fabric to force these different tensions in the body to coexist. The stitching relates to the stabbing pain and mending of chronically ill bodies. The ceramic and fabric materials provide a contrast, like the strong pain I feel and my fragile, soft body. The cracking textures on the surface of the dolls speak to the strong emotional baggage that comes with the inescapable pain. There is a broken sense of self; there is a hatred of being in a body that knows nothing but shooting pain. These little scenes provide a deep look into the physical, emotional, pain-filled life. The dolls are accompanied by household items like a bed or couch that I desperately rely on when facing my illness.
These distorted dolls reveal emotions and pain beyond words that I feel about myself and my illness. I hope they can provoke the audience to think about what they might be taking for granted.
In my artwork, I tell stories using the dolls to portray the feeling of chronic pain and invisibility. These micro-vignettes portray daily life scenes of the chronically ill. Red knots of thread stitch the ceramic to the fabric to force these different tensions in the body to coexist. The stitching relates to the stabbing pain and mending of chronically ill bodies. The ceramic and fabric materials provide a contrast, like the strong pain I feel and my fragile, soft body. The cracking textures on the surface of the dolls speak to the strong emotional baggage that comes with the inescapable pain. There is a broken sense of self; there is a hatred of being in a body that knows nothing but shooting pain. These little scenes provide a deep look into the physical, emotional, pain-filled life. The dolls are accompanied by household items like a bed or couch that I desperately rely on when facing my illness.
These distorted dolls reveal emotions and pain beyond words that I feel about myself and my illness. I hope they can provoke the audience to think about what they might be taking for granted.
Education
2021 Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Ceramics
2020 Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio BFA in Studio Art focused in Ceramics
2018 Studio Arts College International (SACI), Florence, Italy Semester Abroad
2020 Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio BFA in Studio Art focused in Ceramics
2018 Studio Arts College International (SACI), Florence, Italy Semester Abroad
Exhibitions & Shows
2020 16th Annual Rites of Passage, National Emerging Artists Show 2020
Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Available Online
2020 Sheroes in Quarantine
Online Art Exhibition by Lon-Art
2020 Art in Isolation
Envision Arts Online Exhibition
Art Show
2020 BFA Thesis Exhibition
Bowling Green State University, Dorothy Uber Bryan
Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio.
Online Exhibition here.
2020 Representation Matters: I See Me Exhibition
Indiana University Kokomo, IUK Art Gallery,
Kokomo, Indiana.
2019 Acceptance and Attendance at Propel Ohio at
Bowling Green State University in Fall Semester,
Bowling Green, Ohio.
2018 Fall Semester Exhibition at Studio Arts College
International (SACI) in Florence, Italy.
2018 67th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition at
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green
Ohio
2018 The Millennial Show, Dayton, Ohio
2018 Featured Poetry in Bowling Green State University
Arts Village Zine, Bowling Green, Ohio
2017 66th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition at
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,
Ohio
Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Available Online
2020 Sheroes in Quarantine
Online Art Exhibition by Lon-Art
2020 Art in Isolation
Envision Arts Online Exhibition
Art Show
2020 BFA Thesis Exhibition
Bowling Green State University, Dorothy Uber Bryan
Gallery, Bowling Green, Ohio.
Online Exhibition here.
2020 Representation Matters: I See Me Exhibition
Indiana University Kokomo, IUK Art Gallery,
Kokomo, Indiana.
2019 Acceptance and Attendance at Propel Ohio at
Bowling Green State University in Fall Semester,
Bowling Green, Ohio.
2018 Fall Semester Exhibition at Studio Arts College
International (SACI) in Florence, Italy.
2018 67th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition at
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green
Ohio
2018 The Millennial Show, Dayton, Ohio
2018 Featured Poetry in Bowling Green State University
Arts Village Zine, Bowling Green, Ohio
2017 66th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition at
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green,
Ohio
Accomplishments
2020 James W. Strong Studio Achievement Award, BGSU
2020 James W. Strong Outstanding Senior Award, BGSU
2020 James W. Strong Outstanding Senior Award, BGSU
2019 Merit Award from the Toledo Arts
Commission
Commission
2018 Jules Maidoff Award for Best Student
Artwork in Fall Semester
2018 Honorable Mention in Painting Category at
the 67th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition
at Bowling Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio
2017 First place in the First Year Program
Category at the 66th Annual Undergraduate Art
Exhibition at Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, Ohio
2017 Freshman Bravo Talent Award from Bowling
Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
2016 Incoming Freshman Bravo Talent Award from
Bowling Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio
Artwork in Fall Semester
2018 Honorable Mention in Painting Category at
the 67th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition
at Bowling Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio
2017 First place in the First Year Program
Category at the 66th Annual Undergraduate Art
Exhibition at Bowling Green State University,
Bowling Green, Ohio
2017 Freshman Bravo Talent Award from Bowling
Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio
2016 Incoming Freshman Bravo Talent Award from
Bowling Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio
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