Biography

Kathleen Ryan’s sculptural practice re-envisions the detritus of American life. Spoiled fruits become monuments in glistening stone; industrial parts and domestic ephemera are transformed into plants and animals. Reclaimed automobilia, mottled gemstone façades, and armatures of debris interlink and sprawl. Ryan marries disparate objects in novel formations, equally attuned to the material culture of her sources and to the classical considerations of sculpture. Gravity, formal dynamism, and negative space are as much a part of her vocabulary as marble, crystal, and the hoods of aging American muscle cars. With concision and irreverence, Ryan’s sculptures juxtapose kitsch, pastiche, and double entendre to reframe elements of Americana’s iconic visual bricolage, revealing both the beauty and the absurdity inherent in its cultural artifacts.

Kathleen Ryan (b. 1984, Los Angeles, CA) studied art and archaeology as an undergraduate at Pitzer College, and received her MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles under emeritus faculty Charles Ray and Catherine Opie. Recent institutional solo exhibitions include Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker, Norway; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; New Art Gallery, Walsall, UK; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, US; and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Her work is held in numerous public collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, US; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, US; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, US; Crystal Bridges a Museum of American Art, Bentonville, US; Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, US; LAM Museum, Lisse, Netherlands; and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, US. She lives and works in New Jersey, NY.

Works
  • Kathleen Ryan, Screwdriver, 2023
    Screwdriver, 2023
  • Kathleen Ryan, Soft Palate, 2023
    Soft Palate, 2023
  • Kathleen Ryan, Generator VIII, 2023
    Generator VIII, 2023
  • Kathleen Ryan, Beach Scene, 2022
    Beach Scene, 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Wither on the Vine, 2022
    Wither on the Vine, 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Strawberry (Chocolate Dipped), 2022
    Bad Strawberry (Chocolate Dipped), 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Heart, 2022
    Heart, 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Generator II, 2022
    Generator II, 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Melon (Double Rainbow), 2022
    Bad Melon (Double Rainbow), 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Peach (Bite), 2022
    Bad Peach (Bite), 2022
  • Kathleen Ryan, Jackie, 2021
    Jackie, 2021
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Cherries (Dimples), 2020
    Bad Cherries (Dimples), 2020
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Grapes, 2020
    Bad Grapes, 2020
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bad Melon (Wedge), 2020
    Bad Melon (Wedge), 2020
  • Kathleen Ryan, Pleasures Known, 2019
    Pleasures Known, 2019
  • Kathleen Ryan, Frequency, 2018
    Frequency, 2018
  • Kathleen Ryan, Caliper, 2017
    Caliper, 2017
  • Kathleen Ryan, Bacchante, 2017
    Bacchante, 2017
  • Kathleen Ryan, Pearls, 2017
    Pearls, 2017
  • Kathleen Ryan, Diana, 2017
    Diana, 2017
  • Kathleen Ryan, Untitled, 2015
    Untitled, 2015
Installation Views
Installation view, Kathleen Ryan, 2025
Kistefos, Jevnaker, Norway
Exhibitions
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