Biography
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Carly “Car” Riegger (they/them) is a chronically ill and disabled artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since finding clay, they have been able to express the feelings of their illness that words could not. Their artwork naturally merged with disability. They attended Bowling Green State University and graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics. In fall of 2020, they started Indiana University Southeast for a Post-Baccalaureate in Ceramics. Their biggest project included a panel and exhibition called #CripClay which was featured at NCECA in Cincinnati, OH. This exhibition included all artists with disabilities, which was the first of its kind at the conference. Currently, Car is a first-year MFA student at University of Wisconsin-Madison focusing on Ceramics while exploring other media. Both Car’s artwork and career goals involve disability inclusion and rights since they have had many negative experiences. They are working to expand how the ceramics and arts communities work with artists with disabilities.
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Artist Statement
I create my work in response to my life with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It is an inherited disorder that causes pain in the connective tissues throughout the body. I document, express, and preserve my inner turmoil and disability with interdisciplinary sculpture.
I use ceramics in tandem with fibers and other media to make my invisible experiences a tangible reality. Fibers can unravel, loosen, or tighten and I use them to portray the delicate and impermanent state of ill bodies. The play with tension expresses inner states of the body including physical and emotional qualities. Clay offers a permanence to my work that creates a lasting narrative for present and future generations. Disabled lives have been cast aside, ignored, and manipulated throughout history, therefore, I make my work to archive the disabled experience.
In my sculptures, I place honesty and responsibility on the audience to lean into their discomfort surrounding the body. Disability Studies has become an important part of my research in fully understanding disabled lives to further my artwork as advocacy. My work connects with people experiencing pain or illness to show the importance of disability awareness for all people. Through my experience, I understand chronic pain as a constant cycle of destruction and recreation. I restitch, sew, and mend myself back together to heal, to reclaim my body, and to reform my sense of self.
I use ceramics in tandem with fibers and other media to make my invisible experiences a tangible reality. Fibers can unravel, loosen, or tighten and I use them to portray the delicate and impermanent state of ill bodies. The play with tension expresses inner states of the body including physical and emotional qualities. Clay offers a permanence to my work that creates a lasting narrative for present and future generations. Disabled lives have been cast aside, ignored, and manipulated throughout history, therefore, I make my work to archive the disabled experience.
In my sculptures, I place honesty and responsibility on the audience to lean into their discomfort surrounding the body. Disability Studies has become an important part of my research in fully understanding disabled lives to further my artwork as advocacy. My work connects with people experiencing pain or illness to show the importance of disability awareness for all people. Through my experience, I understand chronic pain as a constant cycle of destruction and recreation. I restitch, sew, and mend myself back together to heal, to reclaim my body, and to reform my sense of self.
Education
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2026
2024
2023
2020
2018
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI The City University of New York (CUNY)
New York, NY Indiana University Southeast
New Albany, IN Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH Studio Arts College International (SACI)
Florence, Italy |
Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics
Master of Arts in Disability Studies
Post-Baccalaureate in Ceramics
BFA in Studio Art focused in Ceramics
Fall Semester Abroad
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Organizations
Disability and Access Coalition Club at CUNY
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The Dirt Bags Ceramics Club at IUS
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Exhibitions, Shows & Professional Experience
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2023
2023
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
2020
2020
2020
2020
2018
2018
2018
2017
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#CripClay, Concurrent Exhibition
Co-Organizers: Victoria Walton and Amanda Barr 57th Annual NCECA Conference, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, OH #CripClay: Taking Imitative for Accessibility
Presentation Panel at 57th Annual NCECA Conference, Cincinnati, OH All In: Expanding Our Disability Advocacy, Common Experience
Disability Panel at Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN Annual Juried Fine Arts Student Exhibition
Juror: Kat Cox, Ronald L. Barr Gallery, IUS, New Albany, IN Ephemera, Group Exhibition with Molly Otremba
Art Alliance of Southern Indiana, New Albany, IN Shaping Our Experience, Body of Work Podcast Episode
Conversations with Disabled Artists Bodies: Celebrating All Bodies, Online Exhibition
The Ikouii Creative Organization, Curated by Aleatha Linsay Inside Their Studio: Deaf & Disabled Artists Reshaping the Arts
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Accomplishments
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2022
2022
2021
2021
2021
2020
2020
2019
2018
2018
2017
2017
2016
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Artists & Craftsman 1st Place Award, IUS
Kentucky Mudworks Award, IUS
Executive Vice Chancellor's Purchase Award
IUS Annual Juried Student Exhibition, New Albany, IN Kentucky Mudworks Award
IUS Annual Juried Student Exhibition, New Albany, IN We’re Still Here Micro Grant, Suffering the Silence
James W. Strong Studio Achievement Award
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH James W. Strong Outstanding Senior Award
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
Jules Maidoff Award for Best Student Artwork in Fall Semester
Honorable Mention in Painting Category
67th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH First place in the First Year Program Category
66th Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH Freshman Bravo Talent Award
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH Incoming Freshman Bravo Talent Award
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH |
Download CV
| riegger_cv_2022_23.docx |
