Who Am Us

by Matthew O’Reilly January 31 to April 30, 2022 Gallery 505 is a Window Gallery located in the lobby of 505 – 8th Ave SW Working between ceramics and sculpture, my studio practice uses the sculpted figure as a launching pad for conversation about the human condition. I am particularly concerned with asking questions about our collective values through the framework of monuments and public statuary. structures. I employ the grotesque in my armoury of satire in order to rupture the boundaries of what we ‘know’. I do this by dissecting the body into distorted fragments that come back together to solicit curiosity and repulsion. I aim to make reflexive work that pushes, pulls, and complicates dialogues around identity. Ceramics, metal working, readymades, paint, drawing and plaster processes are used as sites for intuitive investigation of the body. Matthew O’Reilly is an emerging artist who recently completed his MFA in ceramics at the Alberta University for the Arts in Calgary, AB, Canada. He also holds a Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Education, and a Masters in Education with a specialization in social justice from LakeHead University. He is a passionate educator, as well as a formidable maker. Matthew is currently a year-long artist in residence at the Medalta Clay Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta where he is developing new bodies of work concerning the tension between individuals and collectives.

 

 

We acknowledge the generous support of 679 CAPITAL, The City of Calgary Public Art Program, the Province of Alberta through Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and of Calgary Arts Development.