Veronica Ryan OBE (b. 1956, Plymouth, Montserrat) creates meticulously handcrafted work using a wide range of materials, including bronze, plaster, marble, textile, and found objects. Her sculptures and installations examine environmental concerns, personal narratives and memories, as well as the wider psychological implications of history, trauma and recovery. Ryan’s first one-person exhibition was at Arnolfini, Bristol in 1987. Other important one-person shows have been presented at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (1988); Camden Arts Centre (1995); Aldrich Museum (1996); Salena Gallery, Brooklyn (2005); Tate St Ives (2000, 2005 and 2017); The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh (2011); The Art House, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England (2017); and Spike Island, Bristol (2021). In June 2020, Hackney Council commissioned Ryan to create sculptures celebrating Hackney’s Windrush Generation—the first permanent public artworks to do so in the UK—which were unveiled in October 2021. In 2022, Ryan was included in the Whitney Biennial and awarded the Turner Prize. Her work is in public collections including the Arts Council Collection, Contemporary Art Society, Sainsbury’s Collection, Tate Collection, The Hepworth Wakefield, and the Weltkunst Collection at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Ryan currently lives and works in both New York and the U.K.
Veronica Ryan
Untitled, 2020
coiled fabric strap, custard apple and soursop seeds, metal pin
8 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 1 1/8 in. (21.6 x 21.6 x 2.9 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Between A Rock and A Hard Place, 2022
metal, glass, paper plates, glue, hydrocal, fabric, thread, orange peel, embroidery ring, custard apple and soursop seeds, sculpey, batting, plastic net, plastic bottles and elastic band
123 1/4 x 42 x 28 1/2 in. (313.1 x 106.7 x 72.4 cm)
Veronica Ryan
In Vacuo, 2000
photographic print, acrylic, ink and thread on card stock
11 x 16 3/4 in. (27.9 x 42.5 cm)
framed: 13 1/4 x 19 x 1 1/4 in. (33.7 x 48.3 x 3.2 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Infection XI, 2020
bronze, doily
5 7/8 x 15 x 8 5/8 in. (14.9 x 38.1 x 21.9 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Infection XVI, 2020
plaster cast, cashew nuts, netting
15 x 5 7/8 x 8 5/8 in. (38.1 x 14.9 x 21.9 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Entangle/Disentanglement, 2017-2022
fossilized coral, bandage, bronze, crocheted fishing line, sculpy, tea stained hydrocal, thread, Portuguese pink marble, hair net, pin cushion, pins, stainless steel hook and metal
dimensions variable
shelf: 3 x 48 x 12 in. (7.6 x 121.9 x 30.5 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Pouch, 2020
red netting containing stitched dried orange peels, black thread
5 1/2 x 7 7/8 x 6 3/8 in. (14 x 20 x 16 cm)
Photo: Max McClure. Courtesy Spike Island, Bristol.
Veronica Ryan
In Extremis, Obliterate, Oblivions, 1998
acrylic and ink print on paper
8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (21.6 x 14 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Slade, 1980
Kaffir-D plaster, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, seeds, thread, wood
approx. 50 x 12 x 6 in. (127 x 30.4 x 15.2 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Liminal Spaces, Feathers In Her Head, Sewing Seeds 2, 2019
as installed in "Portable Sculpture," Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, U.K., February - August, 2021.
Photo: John McKenzie.
Veronica Ryan
Arrangement In Layers, Stacking Up Moments I-X, 2016-2019
recycled avocado trays, seeds, dark blue and orange wool and cotton crochet, metal, dimensions variable
Collection: Tate Modern
