Ryan Caldwell received his BFA with emphasis in Ceramics and Sculpture from Washburn University, in Topeka, Kansas, and was awarded the Charles A. and Margaret Pollak Art Purchase Award in 2015. In 2020 Ryan received his MFA from the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. He has been a short term artist in residence at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana and Medalta in Alberta, Canada. His work resides in the art collections of the The Mulvane Art Museum, the Shimpo permeant collection, and the Montana Museum of Arts and Culture. Ryan currently resides in Missoula Montana where he is one of five founding directors of Wildfire Ceramic Studio, a private artist studio and gallery. Ryan’s work deals with the dichotomy between the visual stimuli of the world around us and the use of utilitarian ceramics in the home. He pulls inspiration form compositions found in the industrial landscape of which he lives. His work is subtle in shape and form while having a clean contemporary take on traditional ceramics.