Artist Brett Kern molds a Montana dinosaur in ceramic

The artist’s sculptures, based on inflatable toys, are on view at Radius Gallery.

When Brett Kern was 2 years old, his younger sister was born. As a reward for his good behavior during his first visit to the hospital, his parents gave him an inflatable plastic dinosaur — the kind that were ubiquitous during the 1980s.

In 2012, Kern and a fellow artist were organizing a dinosaur-themed art show. He found one of the cheap toys and slip-cast it in ceramic, a mold-making process to re-create an object multiple times. It was just an idea that popped into his head, based on that fond memory. He produced some more, and galleries called him back and asked him for a re-supply.

“I never envisioned they would become what they were,” he said.

People collect as many species as he can make, often in a specific color. Or a particular species in multiple colors.

A maiasaura ("good mother" dinosaur), which used to live in what is now the state of Montana millions of years ago, by Pennsylvania artist Brett Kern, is on display Tuesday at Radius Clayworks as part of his "Future Fossils" gallery.

***

For “Future Fossils,” open now at the Radius Gallery’s Clayworks ceramic gallery, he’s sharing more than 50 sculptures in 13 species. The title alludes to his technique — molding a sculpture based on a plastic toy.

“You’re turning this object into stone, which is basically what the fossilization process is,” he said. “This item of pop culture in my youth, in my memories, is now like a permanent rock object that will last,” he said.

The dinosaurs boast charmingly simplified shapes that remove all sense of intimidation (teeth and claws) in favor of inviting glee. They come complete with gold-lustered nozzles and curving wrinkles around their fake plastic seams, carefully arranged on a multi-level tiered display, custom-made just for them.

A styracosaurus ceramic dinosaur by artist Brett Kern on display at Radius Clayworks. Kern, who makes slip-cast ceramic dinosaurs that look like inflatable toys from the 1980s, has an art gallery at Radius ClayWorks in downtown Missoula showcasing his ceramic dinosaur work.

On the larger end, size-wise, are the long-necked brontosaurus and brachiosaurus, if you prefer herbivores. Predator fans, look out for the T. rex. Mammals aren’t excluded: There are woolly mammoths, too. The ichthyosaur represents the oceanic species. For a deep-cut, see the long-necked and fiercely armed therizinosaurus, which had its first modern appearance in “Jurassic World Dominion.”

Lisa Simon, the gallery’s co-owner, said they’ve watched people's reactions to them, now and during a 2021 exhibition that included his work.

“There is definitely a literal sense of tromp l’oeil — to ‘trick the eye’ — that happens when you see them," Simon said. "Brett’s work provides such a good example of how art activates the mind; just looking at it brings up a whole bunch of questions: How is it made? Is it a balloon? Is it hard or soft? Do the pieces come apart? Does the plug work?”

Those naturally lead to other questions of why, and eventually just to simple “delight, marvel, wonder," she said.

Kern, who continued collecting toys into his teens when it was not a particularly cool thing to be doing, said it seems to have become accepted again. Oddly enough, he’s now found himself “turning these serious adults who collect art into, essentially, toy collectors. They now have their shelf, with their collection on it, because of these pieces."

Not only that, it seems that it "gives them permission to do it, too, because they’re fancy art objects. They’re not cheap, plastic items.”

Selections of Kern's work in his "Future Fossils" exhibition at Radius Clayworks.

While this isn’t a direction that Kern, a lifelong fan of pop culture from his youth, had figured for himself, it’s proven successful. The Radius display includes a checklist of the 13 smaller dinosaur species, since some collectors want them all. He has an avid fan in Spain who bought one of each, in red. An early sign, from 2012, that he was onto something: Actress Jennifer Garner bought a large, deep purple stegosaurus and showed it off during a live webcast from her home.

He changed his method early on, too. For the early pieces, he made molds of toys he bought. That quickly became limiting, and raised issues of appropriation. What you see now are wholly original creations: He draws designs and assembles his own inflatables from vinyl, then casts individual pieces: legs and torsos. The Triceratop's protective frill is so thin you might also assume it’s plastic rather than clay.

It’s the second time he’s shown work in Missoula, after a 2021 inclusion in the Ceramics Invitational. Kern is based in Pennsylvania, but has some ties to Montana. He spent a year at the Red Lodge Clay Center as a long-term resident.

A large T-rex ceramic dinosaur made by artist Kern is on display at a gallery at Radius Clayworks.

For the occasion, he made a new dinosaur: A maiasaura, a duck-billed dinosaur that in his rendering is hatching from an egg. (He likes to premiere a new species with a little something extra.)

The duck-billed dinosaur was discovered in 1978 by paleontologist Jack Horner, west of Choteau.

It had both eggshells and a baby along with an adult, which indicated to him that the adult cared for its young, hence the name, which translates to “good mother lizard.”

“It's the first dinosaur that was named in the feminine,” he said.

***

Pop culture figures show up elsewhere in his work, although not in this particular Radius show. In an ongoing project called “The Hellenistic Series,” he adapts figures like Alf, Weird Al and more into the forms of classical sculpture. Think Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky in the pose of “The Boxer at Rest” or Raphael, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (not the artist), in the defeated, reclining pose of “The Dying Gaul.”

Like the dinosaurs, the references conjure an air of recognition in the viewer, but have a specific undercurrent for Kern. For instance, Alf, the furry alien of a show of that name, has been transported into the shows of “Boy Strangling Goose.”

They’re personal works, with the character standing in for the artist. During a period where he was having some difficulties related to his teaching work, Alf emerged as his stand-in, almost like someone communicating through a meme.

“Alf is this big-hearted character who's trying to help, and then everything he does is turned around against him,” Kern said.

Brett Kern’s exhibition, “Future Fossils,” is on view at Radius Gallery through Sept. 23.

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Arts and Entertainment Reporter

The artist’s sculptures, based on inflatable toys, are on view at Radius Gallery.

The new comedy "Bottoms" opens this week as the Missoula community cinema starts celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Long-form improv comedy, a record sale and River City Roots Fest are happening this week in Missoula.