Veronica Ryan: Unruly Objects is the first survey of the Montserrat-born British artist Veronica Ryan, OBE (b. 1956). The exhibition presents four decades of Ryan’s groundbreaking practice with over one hundred sculptures, textiles, and works on paper.
Since the 1980s, Ryan has worked with traditional art materials, including bronze and marble, as well as found and everyday items, from seeds and pods to bandages. Her work asks us to reconsider so-called waste, such as padded envelopes, fabric scraps, packaging, and plastic bottles. Her reuse and remaking of such humble materials suggests environmental concerns around excess and consumption as well as a recognition of the unrealized potential of discarded objects. Ryan’s hand-embroidered pillowcases and cushions evoke dreamstates and interior worlds as does her use of alluring textures and colors of coral, turmeric, and indigo. Across her work, Ryan creates a network of connections that brings together personal and global histories of travel and migration as well as narratives of healing, nurturing, and belonging.
The exhibition highlights the artist’s frequent return to past works and ideas in pursuit of new conversations. Through this continuous reshaping, Ryan asks us to consider life itself as a process of constant growth, navigation, and change.
