Rhiannon Scheidt

In my current sculptural practice, I feel an irresistible pull towards light and anything reflective, refractive, sparkly, or luminous in nature. Light as a medium is compelling and sensational, fills and defines volume, creates tone, elicits emotional responses, and prompts viewers into bodily movement. I am using forms and materials that redirect, refract, amplify, suppress light, and create shadow to connect and interact with a viewer both actively and passively.

Sculptural form, imagery, light quality, pattern, texture, and motion are utilized to connect to the viewer by creating some sense of familiarity. My material choices of wood, cast metal, glass, and light strengthen the work’s ability to tap into the viewer’s memory and elicit a range of emotions and physiological reactions. The goal of these connections is to initiate a collaboration with the viewer through their perceptions and through this engagement, counteract the feelings of displacement and disconnection prevalent in our cultural landscape.

Rhiannon Scheidt is a contemporary sculptor working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She works at Carrie Furnaces where she instructs metal casting workshops and develops her own artwork. She learned iron casting and sand carving at East Carolina University where she earned her BFA in Sculpture. She has shown work both domestically and internationally while participating in artist residencies, iron pours, conferences, and teaching workshops. She was the 2023 Festival of Fire keynote speaker at Salem Art Works.  Scheidt earned her MFA in sculpture at Alfred University working with glass, steel, neon, wood, vinyl, natural fibers, and found objects. Her current experiential work creates immersive spaces of movement, light, shadow.