
Opening Reception: October 16, 6–8 PM
Born in 1956 in Plymouth, Montserrat and raised in England, Veronica Ryan OBE, RA 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.
Veronica Ryan: Unruly Objects is currently on view at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St Louis and is the artist’s first survey, featuring over four-decades of work. In August 2025, the exhibition will travel to the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio. Ryan will also have a one-person exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK in Spring 2026
Ryan has studied at St. Albans College of Art and Design, Bath Academy of Art in Corsham Court, The Slade School of Art at University College, London, and The School of Oriental and African Studies at London University. Over her forty-year career, she has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and residencies within the U.K., the U.S., and abroad. Her 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), and The Art House, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England (2017). In 2022, Ryan was included in the Whitney Biennial and awarded the Turner Prize, one the most prestigious prizes for visual arts in the United Kingdom. Her work is in many private and public collections such as the Tate Collection, the Brooklyn Museum, the Arts Council Collection, Contemporary Art Society, Sainsbury’s Collection, the Hepworth Wakefield, and the Weltkunst Collection at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Ryan currently lives and works both in New York and in the U.K.
Veronica Ryan
Plastered House, mid 2000s
plasters, plywood, mesh
14 1/2 x 9 x 9 in. (36.8 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Crucible, mid-1990s/2023
bronze, garden net, clay
8 3/4 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (22.2 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm)
InquireVeronica Ryan
Remnant Cloth, 2022
hydrocal, fabric
7 x 6 1/2 x 8 in. (17.8 x 16.5 x 20.3 cm)
Inquire
Veronica Ryan
Safety, mid-2000s
paper, pins, thread, and photographic print
6 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (16.5 x 27.3 cm)
frame: 8 7/8 x 13 x 1 1/2 in. (22.5 x 33 x 3.8 cm)
InquireVeronica Ryan
Plaster Bandage, early-2000s
elastic, plaster, hydrocal, pins, foam, rubber, ink
5 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 3 in. (14.6 x 11.4 x 7.6 cm)
InquireVeronica Ryan
Hanging Palm, 2023
patinated bronze
48 1/8 x 9 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. (122 x 24 x 22 cm)
InquireVeronica Ryan
Associate Dissociate, 2005
tea bags, thread
11 1/4 x 11 in. (28.6 x 27.9 cm)
frame: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 x 1 1/2 in. (35.2 x 35.2 x 3.8 cm)
InquireVeronica Ryan
Lateral Shoots, 2023–2024
bronze date, date seeds, and cashew, cocoa pod, netting
3 x 7 x 10 3/4 in. (7.6 x 17.8 x 27.3 cm)
InquireVeronica 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
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
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
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
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
Plastered House, mid 2000s
plasters, plywood, mesh
14 1/2 x 9 x 9 in. (36.8 x 22.9 x 22.9 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Crucible, mid-1990s/2023
bronze, garden net, clay
8 3/4 x 15 1/4 x 10 in. (22.2 x 38.7 x 25.4 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Remnant Cloth, 2022
hydrocal, fabric
7 x 6 1/2 x 8 in. (17.8 x 16.5 x 20.3 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Safety, mid-2000s
paper, pins, thread, and photographic print
6 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (16.5 x 27.3 cm)
frame: 8 7/8 x 13 x 1 1/2 in. (22.5 x 33 x 3.8 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Plaster Bandage, early-2000s
elastic, plaster, hydrocal, pins, foam, rubber, ink
5 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 3 in. (14.6 x 11.4 x 7.6 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Hanging Palm, 2023
patinated bronze
48 1/8 x 9 1/2 x 8 3/4 in. (122 x 24 x 22 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Associate Dissociate, 2005
tea bags, thread
11 1/4 x 11 in. (28.6 x 27.9 cm)
frame: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 x 1 1/2 in. (35.2 x 35.2 x 3.8 cm)
Veronica Ryan
Lateral Shoots, 2023–2024
bronze date, date seeds, and cashew, cocoa pod, netting
3 x 7 x 10 3/4 in. (7.6 x 17.8 x 27.3 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
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
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
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 discusses her major one-person exhibition Along a Spectrum at Spike Island, Bristol (May 19–September 5, 2021).