Penny works in ceramics, installation, painting and drawing. Penny’s current art practice is figurative painting, primarily in oils and often with a political/social commentary focus. Penny’s works reflect on the inner lives of people as they address their external social world, often using photographs to explore the past.
Connecting Hearts (2016-19), her social engagement project exploring human interconnectedness across borders, involved over 6000 people actively participating in making, installing and using small terracotta human hearts. In 2018 Penny was commissioned by King’s College, London working with the UK Migration Museum to engage Londoners around the question of ‘belonging’ at a time of Brexit. In 2019, the Adelaide Migration Museum commissioned Penny to conduct heart-making workshops over one month and install the hearts at the Botanic Gardens over two days. The Migration Museum then exhibited this work from January to June 2020.
Penny’s work is in public and private collections in the USA, UK and Australia. Penny initially studied printmaking at Meadowbank TAFE, then completed a Bachelor and Masters in Fine Arts at the National Art School, Sydney. She was the recipient of the Petherbridge Ceramics Prize for her Connecting Hearts Project, and has been a finalist in the Ravenswood Art Prize, Hidden Rookwood Sculpture Prize (commended) and the Chippendale New World Contemporary Art Prize.
Contact
E-mail: Penny.Ryan@iinet.net.au
Instagram: @pennyryanartist
Studio website: https://www.lennoxstreetstudios.com/penny-ryan