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Kelly O'Briant to give Visiting Artist Lecture

Kelly O'Briant

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –Kelly O’Briant, visiting artist and post-graduate research fellow in the West Virginia University School of Art and Design, will present a lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in Bloch Learning and Performance Hall, 200A Creative Arts Center.

O’Briant was recognized by the National Council on Education for Ceramics Arts as an emerging artist in the field in 2015 and her work has been included in exhibitions around the country, including a solo exhibition at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in 2015.

O’Briant will speak about her current body of work “Dark Matter…and all the space between” which explores the presence of ideas that have no objective or measurable characteristics, things that are still present long after a physical entity is gone.

“There are things we sense are effecting us but can’t quite put our finger on and I’ll discuss how I present that through my art,” said O’Briant. “I’ll talk about the gravitational effect a place in time or space has after we leave it and the energy still present after a person is no longer there.”

O’Briant teaches ceramics production methods and 3D printing technologies at WVU and researches a range of ceramic processes and materials, from coiling and pinching, to 3D modeling and printing.

“I enjoy using multiple techniques because it gives me different perspectives,” said O’Briant. “Clay has an uncomplicated way of encoding the marks of my hands, storing those actions and recalling them for the world, while 3D modeling and printing allows me to use a translucent material that seems ephemeral, like ice or glass, while actually being a very repeatable process.”

O’Briant’s exhibit will be on display in the Paul Mesaros Gallery until Sept. 30.

A reception will follow the lecture in the Creative Arts Center Lobby. Attendance is free and open to the public.