Instagram: www.instagram.com/studio_schulz/
Biography
Ryan Schulz is a Hawaii-born ceramic artist specializing in intimate and illustrative work. His background in psychology and his experience working in the food industry have strongly influenced his voice in clay, where he examines themes of cultural projection, escapism, and consumption within American pottery. Schulz earned his BFA at UH Mānoa and his MFA from the University of Florida. He was featured through the Charlie Cummings Gallery in Gainesville, Florida, before returning home to O‘ahu, where he gained experience as a studio technician as well as a faculty, gallery, and studio manager at Jacksonville University.
Currently, Schulz has worked as faculty at Kapi‘olani Community College and serves as head educator at Hawai‘i Ceramic Supply. Most recently, he received a purchase award from the State Foundation for work completed at Raku Ho‘olaule‘a.
Artist Statement
For the piece “Brother” Ryan examines the nature of destruction and the value pigs simultaneously hold.
Food scraps and dishwashing scrubbers were used to pit fire the boar, leaving a surface that suggests reverence and importance. In contrast, the vacuous space on the pot beneath reads as wallows or upturned earth, evoking the imagery of erosion and ecological ruination left in the wake of feral pigs. In that tension, the sculpture becomes both artifact and warning: a figure of use and power, shaped by waste, smoke, and the messy consequences of survival.
Brother
Midrange clay, naked raku and food scrap saggared at 010
9.5"h x 7"w x 7"d
2025
$1200