Education University of Oklahoma | Name G. Riley | |
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Known for Mask making, Public sculpture, Arts educator Notable work Butterfly Trees, Healing Sculpture, Lady GaGa Thunderbolt Mask (2010), Eagle (2011) | ||
G Patrick Riley
G. Patrick Riley is an artist, art educator and mask maker from Oklahoma. His masks have been used in productions at the Kennedy Center. His works are in the collections of Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Oklahoma State Capitol, Arkansas Arts Center, AT&T collection and Lady Gaga. In 2011, the Oklahoma Supreme Court awarded Riley a commission to create an eagle sculpture, 28 feet in height, in the atrium of the supreme court building.
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Biography
As a four year old child, Riley's family would visit Fr. Gregory Gerrer's museum on the campus of St. Gregory's University In Shawnee, Oklahoma. He credits these experiences as having a significant impact on his artistic career, specifically his exposure to Tutu the mummy, the taxidermy animal collection and the African mask collection.
Riley studied at East Central University for two years from 1959 to 1961. He finished his bachelor's degree at University of Oklahoma in 1962. He later completed his master's degree at University of Oklahoma in 1972.
In 2010, the Ford Center commissioned Riley to design and create a mask as a gift for Lady Gaga. Riley purchased a copy of her biography and watched her music videos for inspiration for his design.