Sophie Ryder (born 1963) is a British sculptor, painter, printmaker and collagist known for her large wire structures. Ryder typically uses bronze, wet plaster embedded with found materials, sheet metal, marble, and stained glass.

Biography

Sophie Ryder was born in London, England, in 1963. She studied combined arts at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

from 1981 to 1984, focusing initially on painting. She changed her focus when the Royal Academy's director, Sir Hugh Casson, encouraged her skills development in sculpture.

Works

Sophie Ryder - Minotaur and Hare on Bench

Ryder's sculptures sometimes represent mystical creatures, animals and hybrid beings created in assemblages of materials such as sawdust, wet plaster, obsolete machinery, toys, weld joins, wire 'pancakes', torn scraps of paper and charcoal sticks. Her iconography includes the character of the ''Lady Hare'', which she sees as a counterpart to Ancient Greek mythology's

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

. Her most known piece is the ''Lady Hare'', a hare with a female human body. The works have been commended for questioning human relationships to the natural and folkloric worlds while contemplating dualities of perception. In 1994, a depiction of five

minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

s was excluded from an exhibition at

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

because the sculpture included genitalia as part of the anatomy. Ryder has stated, "I don't sit and contemplate what it is I am trying to achieve. My head is full of ideas all the time. It is part of my life. I don't plan anything, it just comes." Similarly, when asked about the prominence of hares in her work, the artist stated, "it's the same as asking me why I make sculptures, and the answer is because I feel driven to. So it's difficult to always pin down reasons. My introduction to hares was when my lurcher dog would proudly bring hares home and drop them at my feet."

Solo shows

1987 * Edward Totah Gallery, London * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury *

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

, Salisbury 1988 * St. Paul's Gallery, Leeds * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury 1990 * Newport City Museum & Art Gallery, Newport, Gwent * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury * Henley Festival, Henley-on-Thames * Berkeley Square Gallery, Landon 1991 *

Yorkshire Sculpture Park The Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is an art gallery, with both open-air and indoor exhibition spaces, in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It shows work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barb ...

, Wakefield 1992 * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury 1994 *

, Inner Close, Winchester * Red House Museum & Gardens, Christchurch, Dorset * The Allen Gallery (Garden), Aton, Hampshire 1995 * Berkeley Square Gallery, London 1996 * Belloc Lowndes Gallery, Chicago 1997 * O'Hara Gallery, New York * Berkeley Square Gallery, London 1998 * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury 1999 * Berkeley Square Gallery, London * Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 2000 * Berkeley Square Gallery, London * Odapark, Venray, The Netherlands * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury * Buschlon Mowatt Galleries, Vancouver BC 2001 * Galerie de Bellefeuile, Montréal 2002 * Metropole Galleries, Folkestone, Kent, UK * Courcoux & Courcoux Galley, Salisbury 2003 * Berkey Square Galley, London 2004 * Victoria Art Gallery, Bath * Imago Galleries, Palm Desert, CA * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Salisbury * Storey Galleries, Lancaster 2005 *

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

, London * Solomon Gallery, Dublin 2006 * Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School * Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin 2007 * Imago Galleries, Palm Desert * Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids 2008 *

, Wakefield 2009 * Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 2010 * Ayphoe Park, Oxfordshire * Chateau Saint Rosaline, Les Arc-sur Argens 2011 * Ayphoe Park, Oxfordshire 2012 * Cartwright Hall Aré Gallery, Bradford * Villa D’Arte, Pietrasanta, Italy 2013 * Cola Landis Contemporary Art Gallery, Moreton in- Marsh Royal West Academy, Bristol * Imago Galleries, Palm Desert 2014 * New Brewery Arts, Cirencester * Courcoux & Courcoux Gallery, Stockbridge 2016 * Hignell Gallery, London * Sophie Ryder Rising, Waterhouse and Dodd, Rising, New York 2017 * Hignell Gallery, London 2018 * Galerie de Bellefeuile, Montreal

References

External links

Sophie Ryder website

Hignell Gallery website

Gallery De Bellefeuille website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryder, Sophie Living people 1963 births 20th-century English sculptors 20th-century English women sculptors Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Sculptors from London 21st-century English women sculptors 21st-century English sculptors British collage artists