Chris Riccardo’s sculptures are a direct physical manifestation of his inner thoughts and moral struggles. He wants his viewers to share in his insecurities and discomfort—if one walks away from his work and feels somewhat violated, excited, intrigued, and maybe even a little happier, then he feels he has succeeded. His process begins with a thought, a vision, a look—some trigger that draws him to the clay. No longer using exhaustive preliminary sketches and maquettes, he simply visualizes how he wants the clay to look and begins slowly and painstakingly to build and tear at the surface, gradually making aesthetic changes as he sees fit.
Chris Riccardo received his BFA from Boston University in 1990. Chris served as the sculpture department chair and foundry director at the Armory Art Center in Florida from 1998 to 2014. Chris was a Bray summer resident in 2012, a long-term resident 2015-2017, and served as the Executive Director at the Holter Museum of Art from 2015-2022.
