Veronica Ryan moved to London with her parents when she was an infant and now lives between New York and Bristol.
17 Facts About Veronica Ryan
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In December 2022, Ryan won the Turner Prize for her 'really poetic' work.
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Veronica Ryan cites her mother's patchwork as an inspiration for her art.
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Veronica Ryan studied at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, Bath Academy of Art, Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, and the School for Oriental and African Studies.
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Around the same time, Veronica Ryan discovered the work of Louise Bourgeois and Alice Aycock at the Hayward Gallery.
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New Beacon Books was where Veronica Ryan went to find information about non-Western artists and artists of colour.
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In 1980 Veronica Ryan was awarded a Boise Travelling Scholarship from the Slade.
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Veronica Ryan completed her studies at the beginning of the 1980s, a time marked by the rise of the British Black Arts Movement.
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Veronica Ryan took part in the 1983 exhibition Black Women Time Now.
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Veronica Ryan's preferred materials range from heavy ones like cement, bronze, lead and painted plaster, to lighter and more ephemeral ones like paper, dust, flowers and feathers.
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Veronica Ryan's sculptures are abstract and tend towards the biomorphic, appealing to organic forms like pods, shells, husks and seeds.
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The organic nature of Veronica Ryan's work is accentuated by its direct placement on the floor, without a plinth.
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Previously, Veronica Ryan had solo shows at Camden Arts Centre, London and Angel Row, Nottingham ; Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, and Riverside Studios, London ; ICA, London ; Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol.
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In 1983, Veronica Ryan was in Five Black Women Artists, curated by Himid, this time at the Africa Centre, London.
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Veronica Ryan's work is in the permanent collections of the Perez Art Museum Miami, Florida; Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate, and The Henry Moore Collection.
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In 1983, Veronica Ryan was the winner of the second prize at the Cleveland International Drawing Biennale.
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Veronica Ryan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to art.