Furniture & Sculpture
Los Angeles, CA.
Ellie Richards is a sculptor and furniture designer whose work explores the role of objects—especially domestic and functional forms—play in shaping our connection to place, one another, and ourselves.
Working at the intersection of sculpture, craft, and design, Richards engages both traditional woodworking and the language of the readymade to create eclectic assemblages, installations, and one-of-a-kind furniture pieces. Her work investigates how labor, leisure, and play inform cultural expression, and how sculptural objects can act as carriers of shared values and tacit knowledge.
She believes that craft is not only a tool for making, but a medium for meaning—capable of fostering empathy through shared material experiences. By inviting interaction, contemplation, and delight, her work activates a deeper relationship between people and the environments they inhabit.
Richards has exhibited at the Mint Museum, the Center for Craft, SOFA Chicago, and the Society of Contemporary Craft. She has held Windgate residencies at the Center for Art in Wood, San Diego State University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and recently completed a three-year residency at Penland School of Craft.
She teaches woodworking and creative practice at craft schools and art centers across the country, and is currently a lecturer at California State University Long Beach. Richards lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, where she maintains her studio at LA Woodshop.
