Ryan Gander is renowned for his expansive artistic practice that spans multiple disciplines, including sculpture, film, writing, graphic design, and performance. His work engages with the overlooked and often mundane aspects of everyday life, reinterpreting them through a philosophical lens that challenges the boundaries of language and knowledge. Gander’s art invites viewers to move beyond passive observation, encouraging them to form their own connections and construct multi-layered narratives.
His works often take the form of a puzzle or an intricate network of interconnections. Drawing from the legacy of modernist design, Gander reimagines aesthetic values, creative processes, and the modes of art’s appearance. Rather than presenting a single linear narrative, his art creates a dialogic space filled with multiple perspectives and solutions. This approach not only demands active participation from the viewer but also questions established norms in artistic production.
Ryan Gander studied Interactive Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University before continuing his education at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam and the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. Throughout his career, he has achieved both academic and artistic recognition, serving as a Professor of Visual Art at the University of Huddersfield and receiving honorary doctorates from Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Suffolk.
In 2017, Gander was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his contributions to contemporary art. In 2019, he received the prestigious Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, and in 2022, he was elected a Royal Academician in the category of Sculpture. Ryan Gander’s works are part of significant collections, including Tate Modern, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna.
Ryan Gander lives and works in Suffolk and London.
Photo: Jay Russell