Chris Kelsey – Red Lodge Clay Center

Chris KelseySpokane, Washington


Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident 2020

Grew up in Billings, Montana. Started drum lessons at age 12. Dropped out of college to join a rock band. Went back to school for photography, eight years later. Worked as a preparator at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings. Travelled the country setting up art glass museum exhibits of William Morris & Dale Chihuly. Loves to ride and race bicycles. Glad to be alive during the Great Beer Enlightenment. Fascinated by Geology. Has always loved to build things.Loves clay for its properties and the process. It’s similar to how the earth makes things. Is co-owner of Trackside Studio Ceramic Art Gallery in Spokane.

Chris Kelsey was raised in the Big Sky State where he played drums in rock and country music bands after high school. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Montana State University-Billings in 1997 where he studied photography and sculpture. While there he also studied ceramics with Marcia Selsor, clay has been his primary medium since then. He has lived in Spokane since 2001. In 2008, Chris opened Trackside Studio with a fellow clay artist as their studio and gallery space.

My recent work is about change. I use geometric forms and the suggestion of geologic forces to portray the constant change in our world, society and relationships. I create compositions that appear to be shifting or unstable, expressions of how tenuous our world can be. The proximity and connections among the forms create a dialogue that is open to interpretation.