Em Kettner on Sculpting Disability, Dependency, and Court Jesters

Em Kettner in her exhibition “Slow Poke,” 2021, at François Ghebaly, Los Angeles.
Em Kettner’s new figurative sculptures are rooted in her experience with muscular dystrophy and take up smallness and fragility in manners that are charming, fun, and decidedly not pathetic. Kettner focuses on themes like religion, sex, and the history of disabled people entertaining others with their extraordinary bodies and abilities. She manages to take on these heavy topics in a playful