Riefe’s art has been driven by his interests in perception, space, and time. He strives to make art relevant by facilitating interactive and insightful experiences. Art, for him, is a way of spurring curiosity, dialog and creating a sense of place. Riefe’s work spans from intimate objects to large exterior site-specific sculptures. His practice uses form and material to connect viewers to the present moment.
Riefe was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1991, and currently living in his hometown. He attended the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art, Washington University, in St. Louis (MFA Fellow, 2017) and studied at the University of Northern Iowa (BFA, Art History and Sculpture, 2014). Since then, he has been group exhibitions at the Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis, and in outdoor shows in Knoxville, Tennessee; Hutchinson Kansas; Mankato, Minnesota; Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Riefe has public sculptures in the collections of Fort Dodge, IA (2021), Hutchinson, KS (2021), Lakewood, MN (2019), Iowa State University (2018), Minnesota State University (2018), Laneken, Belgium (2018), Cedar Falls, IA (2017) Rock Island, IL (2016), and Sioux City, IA (2016)
EDUCATION
2017 Master of Fine Arts- Sculpture, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts -Sculpture; Minor in Art History, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Artprize; Grand Rapids, Michigan
2021 MSA Select: Interdisciplinary Sculpture, University of Cincinnati DAAP Gallery, Ohio
2020 Silverwood Art on Foot, Saint Anthony, Minnesota
2019 Sculpture in Public, Knoxville, Tennessee
2018 SculptureWalk Hutchinson, Hutchinson, Kansas
2017 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri
2017 City Art Walking Sculpture Tour, Mankato, Minnesota
2017 Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
2016 MFA Group Show, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri
2016 Sculpture Tour, Group Exhibition, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
2016 Sculpture Walk Peoria, Group Exhibition, Peoria, Illinois
2015 Activate Art, Group Exhibition, St. Louis, Missouri
2015 Sculpt Siouxland, Group Exhibition, Sioux City, Iowa
2015 Chris Vance + Sculpture, Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, Iowa
2015 Avera McKennan SculptureWalk, Indoor Sculpture Group Exhibition, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2014 SculptureWalk, Outdoor Sculpture Group Exhibition, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2014 Art on the River, Outdoor Sculpture Group Exhibition, Dubuque, Iowa
2014 Quad City Arts, Outdoor Sculpture Group Exhibition, Rock Island, Illinois
2014 SPACETIME, BFA Exhibition, University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art, Cedar Falls, Iowa
2012 Space Exploration, Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo, Iowa
COMMISSIONS
2021 Lift, Fort Dodge Regional Airport, Iowa
2021 Ace, Fun Valley Sports Complex; Hutchinson, Kansas
2019 Lighthouse, Silverwood Park; Saint Anthony, Minnesota
2017 Nest, North Cedar Natural Resource Project, Cedar Falls, Iowa
COLLECTIONS
2022 Mindful, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Ashburn, Virginia
2018 Towards Tomorrow, Minnesota State University; Mankato, MN
2018 Glo’art Art Center, Lanaken, Belgium
2017 Expand, Iowa State University; Ames, IA
2015 Wormhole, Quad City Art Center; Rock Island, IL
2015 Timewarp, Sioux City Art Center; Sioux City, IA
AWARDS/ HONORS
2022 Artprize Best Venue Award
2019 Knoxville Viewer Choice Award
2018 Glo’art Artist Residency, Lanaken, Belgium
2018 Hutchinson Viewers Choice Award
2017 Collaborative Technology Center Grant, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
2015 Art on the River, Viewers Choice Award, Dubuque, Iowa
2014 Department of Art In-House Scholarship, University of Northern Iowa
2011 Harry and Rita Guillaume Memorial Scholarship, University of Northern Iowa
TEXT
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Mohn, Katrina. “Mindful.” The Offing, https://theoffingmag.com/art/mindful/, August 9, 2021.
Marasca, Teresa, et al. Glo’Art. 2019.
Kinnney, Pat, and Brandon Pollock. “Huge Metal Sculpture 'Nestles' into North Cedar Falls.” Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, 21 Aug. 2017
Kinney, Pat. “Artwork selected for North Cedar area of Cedar Falls.” Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, July 30, 2016
Rushing, Tiffany. "UNI Students Building Special Olympics Cauldron." The Des Moines Register, June 4, 2014.
Elmer, MacKenzie. "UNI Crafts Torch for 2014 Special Olympics." Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, June 4, 2014.