Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (AIA) 2026
Sean Clute grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, where he first discovered ceramics in high school. Early exposure to the medium sparked his interest in building figurative sculpture. He continued his education at the University of Montana, where he developed a practice of artistic journaling and expanded the narrative depth of his figurative work. Following his undergraduate studies, Sean completed residencies at The Clay Studio of Missoula, the Morean Center for Clay and Lillstreet Art Center. Sean then pursued an MFA at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, exploring non-figurative emotional forms and nature/nurture narratives. Sean has been teaching ceramics at the University of South Carolina for the past four years and has served as Head of Ceramics for the past two years.
I look to capture that honest response where our true personality comes to surface. I surround these figures in a scene that makes them respond in a specific way. The scene pressures the personality and encapsulates the figures in this moment in time. This subsequently reveals what is at the core of each person. I break down their psychology to project an honest response to the scene. Just as an actor would dissolve the nuances of a character, I will give cause to this response.