Liza Ryan

Liza Ryan (born 1965) is an American contemporary artist living in Los Angeles, CA. Her work is held in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art among others.

Background and Education Ryan earned a BA in English Literature at Dartmouth College (New Hampshire), attended the San Francisco Art Institute and received an MFA in photography from California State University, Fullerton.

Work Liza Ryan’s decades-long artistic practice utilizes photography, painting, video and mixed media to examine hierarchical power structures inherent to western culture. Her work often presents a symbiotic relationship between the human and natural worlds, supporting her convictions about interspecies solidarity. Wind(shield), Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, CA (2015). Exploded Moment, William Griffin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (2010). Spill, Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland, OR (January 30 – March 8, 2009) (cat.) New Work: Video and Photographs, William Griffin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (2008).

OCTOPUS WORK, Current Ryan carried her findings from Antarctica over to her current body of work which focuses on the octopus, as subject and the vehicle through which to examine prejudice and privilege. She was drawn to this particular cephalopod because octopuses possess extremely advanced cognitive abilities yet share little in common physically with humans and other mammals, making them the ultimate intelligent “other”. Although it has been proven that octopuses feel pain, have distinct personalities, retain memory, problem solve, and use tools, their classification as an invertebrate deems them unworthy of ethical treatment or any sort of legal protection when being studied in laboratories or being prepared for human consumption.

Ryan’s fieldwork began by interacting with octopuses and scientists in aquariums and labs around the country. While working with octopuses the artist observed: “Octopuses change color, shape and texture, they stare at you and study your movements with curiosity and intelligence, they move with fluid, hypnotic grace. Eight arms, all containing neurons, and possibly independent thinking, snake around seemingly of their own volition. They are silent.”

Publications

Robb Report: Escape Plans, 2022. Ice Culture. Black Coffee & Vinyl Presents, 2019. Writing with Willona M. Sloan. The Unreal Real: Liza Ryan. Monograph published by Steidl and The Institute of Art Research, 2018. Writings by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Holly Meyers, Hanna Heiting Liza Ryan: Fragment. Curated by Amy G.Moorfield, Director. Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University, 2012. Liza Ryan, Spill. Portland, OR: Reed Institute, 2009. Stephanie Snyder. Liza Ryan, Zones of Contact: 2006 Biennale of Sydney. Exhibition Catalogue, 2006. Andrew Schulz. Liza Ryan, Griffin, 2005. Interview with Genevieve Day. Double Vision: Photographs from the Strauss Collection. Exhibition Catalogue. Essays by Constance W. Glenn, Mary-Kay Lombino, and Arthur Ollman. Long Beach: University Art Museum, California State University, College of the Arts, 2001. Portretten & Stillevens: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection. Amsterdam: Waanders Uitgevers/Rijksmuseum, 2001 Liza Ryan: Works 1993–2000. Cinubia, 2000. With an essay by Charles Merewether. Degrees of Stillness: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection. Exhibition catalogue. Essay by Susanne Lange. Koln: Stiftung Kulture, 1999 Liza Ryan: The Effect of Surface Wind Speed on Familiar Objects. Venice, CA: Griffin, 1997. Mina Ryan.

Collections The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France

Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA

The Rosenkrantz Foundation, Berlin, Germany

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH