Riley Rouse is a sculptor and multimedia artist based in Kansas City, MO. Her work explores the emotional connections we form with everyday objects, using ceramics, satire, and scale to investigate how we ascribe meaning to the things around us.
Leaning into her affinity for collecting, sorting, and obsessing over objects, Riley recontextualizes familiar materials and symbols to explore themes of commodification and value. Her pieces, often playful and sometimes satirical, can be personal while also resonating with universal human experiences. From frustration and grief to strength, intimacy, and desire, her work captures a wide emotional spectrum, inviting reflection on the psychological weight objects can carry.
Education
2023 - BFA - Kansas City Art Institute - Kansas City, MO
Solo Exhibitions
2020 — Sketch Archive - Bixler 108 Performance and Listening Room, Unionville, MO
Group Exhibitions
2025 — Bless Your Heart — Vulpes Bastille, Kansas City, MO
2025 — Flat File — Artspace — Kansas City, MO
2024 — Keepsake — Holsum Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2023 — The Door Is Always Open — Vulpes Bastille, Kansas City, MO
2023 — Another Kind of Time — H&R Block Space, Kansas City, MO
2023 — That Wasn’t My Chair After All — Kansas City Art Institute Sculpture Dept., Kansas City, MO
2022-23 — Out in the Open — Kansas City Art Institute Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2022 — Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You — Kansas City Art Institute Sculpture Department, Kansas City, MO
2022 — Tilted Arc — Fat Matt's Vortex, Kansas City, KS
2021 — The Reckoning — Kansas City Art Institute Sculpture Department, Kansas City, MO
2021 — Ways of Seeing — Kansas City Art Institute Photography Department, Kansas City, MO
2020 — Out of the Dark — Kansas City Art Institute Photography Department, Kansas City, MO
2019 — A World, Not Our Own — Kansas City Art Institute Foundations, Kansas City, MO
Grants and Awards
2023 — BFA Excellence Award — Kansas City Art Institute
2022 — Mckeown Grant
2021-22 —Byron and Marilyn Schutz Scholarship
2020-2023 —Spring President’s List, Kansas City Art Institute
2019-2022 — Fall President’s List, Kansas City Art Institute
2019-23 — Kansas City Art Institute’s President’s Cabinet Scholarship
2018 — Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Photo Scholar, Kansas City, MO
Professional Experience
2025-26 — Property Manager — Holsum Studios — Kansas City, MO
2023-26 — Production Manager — Paulina Otero Designs — Kansas City, MO
2023-26 — Owner/Ceramic Artist — Riley Rouse LLC — Kansas City, MO