Veronica Ryan is a sculptor who is inspired by the shapes and forms of the natural world. Fruits, seeds and nuts are recurring motifs that function metaphorically for the artist’s sense of dislocation, and allude to a history of global trading. Their symbolism also relates to the cycles of life and death. Ryan experiments with scale, material and technique, allowing the significance of different objects to be played with.
Cluster (2021) was commissioned as part of Ryan’s dialogue with plasters in The Hepworth Wakefield’s collection in 2021, to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The artist found a magnolia pod in Barbara Hepworth’s garden and cast it in bronze. Sweet Dreams are Made of These (2022) is a major floor-based piece incorporating ceramic casts of cardamom pods on a fabric base, bringing in another important material facet of Ryan’s practice. Cardamom pods are traditionally stewed in milk to create a drink that improves the metabolic rate during sleep and helps manage blood pressure.
Together with an earlier work of Ryan’s in the collection, the addition of these two recent works displays a more comprehensive overview of her practice, including the incorporation of colour. This acquisition also serves to better reflect the gallery’s close relationship with the artist over the past years.
