New York- based Kathleen Ryan’s work in sculpture is distinguished by her virtuosic grasp of materials, ranging from poured concrete, cast iron, carved marble, and precious stones, to found objects such as granite machine-mount blocks or bowling balls. Ryan engages with formal sculptural concerns such as volume, weight, pressure, balance, and line, while subtly alluding to the materials’ historical and economic underpinnings, along with frequent references to the human body and classical motifs. Many of her recent works were cast at a nearly defunct iron foundry in Pennsylvania, and in part engage with a declining manufacturing industry that has shaped the economic and social trajectory of communities across the United States. Varying from poetic to deadpan, Ryan’s works are rendered effortlessly light and delicate in spite of their massive industrial materials and manifest weight.
Kathleen Ryan (b. 1984, Santa Monica, California) holds a BA in Studio Art and Anthropology from the Pitzer College, Claremont, California (2006) and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles (2014).
Moldy Lemon (detail), 2019
Recent solo exhibitions: Kathleen Ryan:Cultivator, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (2019); Seven Sculptures at Sunset, Josh Lilley, London, UK (2018); Man Made Moon, CC Foundation & Art Centre, Shanghai, China (2018); Weightless Again, Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2017); Bacchante, Theseus Temple Commission, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (2017); Pink Hook Iron Eyes, Arsenal Contemporary, New York, USA (2017); Kathleen Ryan, Josh Lilley, London (2016).
Select group exhibitions: Ghost Palm, Desert X Biennial, Coachella Valley, California, USA (2019); Sculptures, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, USA (2018); Pine Barrens, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, USA (2018); Outrageous Ornament, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, USA (2018); Liquid Dreams, Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2018); Frieze Sculpture, Regent’s Park, London, UK (2018); I Had the Landscape in My Arms, Josh Lilley, London, UK (2018); Spieltrieb, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, USA (2018); Vision Valley, Brand Library and Art Center, Glendale, USA (2018); Eye to Eye, Arsenal Contemporary, New York, USA (2018); The Leftovers, Simon Lee Gallery, New York, USA (2017); L'Été plus vaste que l'Empire..., Wentrup Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2017); Webutuk Vuitton, The Re-Institute, Millerton, New York, USA (2017); Gates of Hell, Arturo Bandini, Los Angeles, USA (2017); Flavr Savr*, The Pit, Los Angeles, USA (2016); Frieze Sculpture, Regent’s Park, London, UK (2015); Jeff, Grice Bench, Los Angeles, USA (2015).
