[cid:image002.jpg@01D4EA1C.33DF19B0] The Helen S. Smith Gallery on the Green River College Campus Presents Ryan W. Kelly: The Crass Menagerie April 2 - May 1 Artist Talk and Closing Reception: Wednesday, May 1, noon "The Crass Menagerie is a surreal interior domestic space anchored by the large Self-Portrait as Bearskin Rug. The space is populated by wood and paper mache props, evoking anthropomorphic household furnishings and a number of small ceramic sculptures reminiscent of the tchotchkes collected by my elderly midwestern relatives. This body of work comes, in part, from my study of and appreciation for historic and contemporary kitsch ceramic objects, and vernacular art forms. Just as much it is informed by a childhood spent exploring the cramped, overstuffed homes of elderly relatives, filled with books, curios and artifacts from their long lives. While this installation may have a familiarity in expression or form, there is a half-cocked dream logic to the entirety. I am returning to these spaces in my dreams to interrogate these secret objects for their stories." Image above: Ryan W. Kelly, Hapless Hotdog with Vulture, white stoneware, 15" x 10" x 24" Sarah Dillon Gilmartin Fine Art Faculty Helen S. Smith Gallery Director Green River College 12401 SE 320th St. Auburn, WA 98092-3622 253/833-9111, ext. 4213