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Ricky Swallow

For over two decades, Ricky Swallow’s works in bronze have explored the process of conversion that takes place when an object or combination of materials becomes sculpture. He begins with ordinary, domestic materials - such as rope, wood, masking tape, and punctured cardboard – that are then assembled into forms reflecting the details of their own material identities and imperfections. These configurations of objects and textures are then intricately reproduced through analogue processes: initially cast in bronze and then patinated or painted in oils as they continue to be worked on in the studio; Swallow’s participation being a critical part of maintaining connection and control over the final form of the work. The restrained appearance of the resulting sculptures belie their complexity, both materially and technically: the fine threads of a rope cast in metal, or the creases of cardboard enduring through the casting process. In this sense, Swallow’s works fold in subtle references to painting, and specifically the Dutch still life tradition, resonating both in the figurative dimensions of his work as well as in its conceptual underpinnings. But these references are never uncomplicated, the trompe-l'œil effect for instance, present in Swallow’s work since its beginning, has always been a means to an end – an attention trap, a way to slow down perception and experience - rather than an end in itself. What becomes important is the tactility and physical presence of the sculptural components, a registered and experienced behaviour of the elements comprising each piece.

Ricky Swallow was born in 1974 in San Remo, Australia, and lives and works in Los Angeles. In 2005, he represented Australia at the 51st Venice Biennale with the exhibition This Time Another Year. Solo and two-person exhibitions include Modern Art, London (2022); The Huntington Library, San Marino (2012); the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2009); The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2007); and MoMA PS1, Brooklyn (2006). Swallow has also participated in recent group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2018); the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2017); the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2014); and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2014). His works are held in collections including the British Museum, London; LACMA, Los Angeles; MoMA, New York; and the Yokohama Museum of Art. He has contributed writing to catalogues for Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective at The Art Institute of Chicago (Spring 2024); Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard at LACMA (Fall 2024); Brilliant Earth: The Ceramic Sculpture of Tony Marsh at Long Beach Museum of Art (2022); and Woody De Othello (KARMA/Jessica Silverman, New York, 2021). Additionally, he curated exhibitions on the work of Doyle Lane at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2020) and New York (2023) Co-editing and contributing a text for the accompanying catalogue (2023).

Press
Biography
Zig #4, 2018
Penguin Pots (soot) , 2011
patinated bronze, 21.6 x 29.8 x 7 cm, 8 1/2 x 11 3/4 x 2 3/4 in
1/2
Stair with Contents, 2013
patinated bronze, 56 x 89 x 56 cm, 22 1/8 x 35 1/8 x 22 1/8 in
1/3
Skewed Relief #6 (reversed ‘E’), 2022
patinated bronze and oil paint, 121.9 x 38.1 x 7.6 cm, 48 x 15 x 3 in
1/3
Calendar Relief #2, 2022
patinated bronze and oil paint, 62.2 x 62.2 x 9.5 cm, 24 1/2 x 24 1/2 x 3 3/4 in
1/3
Molding Study, exterior corner (for R.M.), 2017
patinated bronze, 14 x 126.4 x 62.9 cm, 5 1/2 x 49 3/4 x 24 3/4 in
1/3
Standing Form with Arches #2 (for T.N), 2019
patinated bronze and oil paint, 33 x 36.8 x 45.7 cm, 13 x 14 1/2 x 18 in
1/3
Stool with Rope, 2019
patinated bronze and oil paint, 126.4 x 177 x 37.5 cm, 49 3/4 x 69 3/4 x 14 3/4 in
1/3
Stacked E's (hinged), 2018
patinated bronze, 86.4 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm, 34 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in
1/3
Triple Zero with Rope ( \ ), 2017
patinated bronze and oil paint, 59.1 x 29.2 x 9.5 cm, 23 1/4 x 11 1/2 x 3 3/4 in
1/3
Hanging Bow with Pegs, 2018
patinated bronze, 36.2 x 91.4 x 3.2 cm, 14 1/4 x 36 x 1 1/4 in
1/2
Hanging S Sculpture (open) #2, 2018
patinated bronze, 34.3 x 15.2 x 12.7 cm, 13 1/2 x 6 x 5 in
1/2
Horoscope #6, 2016
patinated bronze, 17.1 x 17.8 x 3.8 cm, 6 3/4 x 7 x 1 1/2 in
1/3
Z Sculpture with Band #2, 2015
patinated bronze, 13.3 x 25.4 x 15.9 cm, 5 1/4 x 10 x 6 1/4 in
1/2
Flag (soot), 2013
patinated bronze, 25.5 x 29.5 x 9 cm, 10 x 11 1/2 x 3 1/2 in
1/2
Plate 25 (slate, fog), 2010
patinated bronze, 67.3 x 47.5 x 3 cm, 26 1/2 x 18 3/4 x 1 1/8 in
1/3
Stair with Contents, 2013
Skewed Open Structure with Rope #9, 2023

Press

Apartamento1 March 2019
Art in America1 May 2014
Artforum1 May 2011
Art Review1 June 2005

Biography

Ricky Swallow

Born in San Remo, VIC, Australia, 1974 Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Education

1993 - 1997
BA Fine Art, Drawing
Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Solo Exhibitions

2022
Sand in My Joints
Modern Art, London
2020
BORROWED SCULPTURES
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2018
Shoulders
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
4
Modern Art, London
2017
New Work
Maccarone, New York, NY, USA
2015
David Kordansky Gallery
Los Angeles, CA, USA
2014
Modern Art
London
2013
Darren Knight Gallery
Sydney, NSW, Australia
2012
Ricky Swallow and Lesley VanceThe Huntington, San Marino, CA, USA
2011
Marc Foxx
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Modern Art
London
2009
The BricoleurIan Potter Centre National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
WatercolorsQueensland University Art Gallery, Brisbane, travelling to Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
Watercolors - Bearded men - after Picasso
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2008
Marc Foxx
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Ballad of a Thin Man
The Suburban, Oak Park, IL, USA
Recent Work
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2007
Ricky Swallow
Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Younger than YesterdayKunsthalle Vienna project space, Vienna, Austria
2006
MoMA P.S.1Long Island City, NY, USA
Long time gone
Modern Art, London
The Past Sure Is Tense
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
2005
This Time Another Year
Australian Pavilion, 51st Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2004
Killing Time
Gertrude Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Killing Time
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2003
Field Recordings
Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2002
Tomorrow in Common
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Wooden Problem
Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Sculpture Now
First Floor Artists and Writers Space, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2001
MATRIX 191: For those who came in late
University of California Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA, USA
Above Ground Sculpture
Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Swallow/Swenson, (with Erick Swenson)Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2000
Plastruct
Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Unplugged
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Ricky Swallow: Above Ground Sculpture
Project Room, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand
Individual Ape
Hot Road Tea Room, Oslo, Norway
The Multistylus Programme
Studio 12, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, Australia
Repo Man
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997
The Lighter Side of the Dark Side
Grey Area Art Space, Inc., Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Small World
Teststrip, Auckland, New Zealand

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023
South Willard, curated by Matt Connors and Matt Paweski
Gordon Robichaux, New York, NY, USA
Modern Art
Paris, France
20
David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Wishing Well
Dunes Gallery, Portland, ME, USA
Diseases
Parker Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
nightshiftsBuxton Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
SMOKE, curated by Ed Davis
Reading Room, Melbourne, Australia
2022
w-HoleHeide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, VIC, Australia
The Gertrude Editions
Geelong Gallery, Geelong VIC, Australia
2021
Dear JohnAdams and Ollman, Portland, OR, USA
Group show
Modern Art, London
2019
In Quest of Beauty: Assemblage in the Ahmanson Collection
The Ahmanson Gallery, Irvine, CA, USA
2018
Bodies of Art: Human Form from the National CollectionNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Obsession: Devil in the detail
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, VIC, Australia
Wiggle
Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels, Belgium
2018 Invitational
Home@735, Redfern, Australia
Bronze Age c. 3500 BC – AD 2018, organised by Hauser & Wirth
Firstsite, Essex
The Shape of Things to ComeBuxton Contemporary, Southbank, VIC, Australia
2017
Working/Not Working
CANADA, New York, NY, USA
Australian art and the Russian avant-gardeArt Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Every Brilliant Eye: Australian Art of the 1990sNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
99 Cents or LessMuseum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI, USA
Beyond Belief: The Sublime in Contemporary Art
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Bathurst, Australia
2016
Tricking the eye—contemporary trompe l'oeilGeelong Gallery, Geelong, Australia
Tempest, curated by Juliana EngbergTasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
Theories of Modern Art
Modern Art, London
2015
Blind Architecture, curated by Douglas Fogle
Thomas Dane Gallery, London
Technologism, curated by Charlotte DayMonash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia
Hiding in Plain Sight: A Selection of works from the Michael Buxton Collection
Bendigo Art Gallery, Bendigo, VIC, Australia
2014
MenagerieAustralian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA), Melbourne, Australia
Selected by, selected by Michael Marriot and Jesse Wine
Limoncello Gallery, London
The Machine Project Field Guide to The Gamble House
Pasadena, CA, USA
Made in L.A., Hammer BiennialHammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Quiz
Poirel Gallery, Nancy, France
Whitney BiennialWhitney Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
2013
A Personal Choice, by Bruna Aickelin
Il Capricorno, Venice, Italy
Everyday
Murray White Room, Melbourne, Australia
Reinventing the Wheel: The Readymade CenturyMonash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Melbourne, Australia
2014
Still LifeArt Gallery of New South Wales, Syndey, Australia
2013
AquatopiaNottingham Contemporary, Nottingham; travelling to Tate St Ives, St Ives
Labour and WaitSanta Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
TEN YEARS
Wallspace Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Mind is Outer Space
Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Coconut Water
White Flag Projects, Saint Louis, MO, USA
Notes on Neo-Camp, curated by Chris SharpOffice Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium; travelling to Studio Voltaire, London
A Handful of DustSanta Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Against the Grain, Wood in Contemporary Craft and DesignMuseum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, USA
2012
To Hope, To Tremble, To LiveThe Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield
Pale Ontology
Marc Foxx, Los Angeles, CA, USA
The Mystery Trend
Wallspace, New York, NY, USA
Construct
Mary Mary, Glasgow
2011
I Do This, I Do That-Joe Bradley & Ricky Swallow, curated by Matt Connors
The Taut and The Tame, Berlin, Germany
10 ways to look at the pastNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Out Of Australia
The British Museum, London
2010
Almanac, the Gift of Ann Lewis AOMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Reframing Darwin, evolution and art in AustraliaIan Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2009
Mythologies
Haunch of Venison, London
Soft SculptureNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Real Art Road Show
The Viaduct Basin, Auckland, New Zealand (touring)
2008
Lost & Found: An Archaeology of the PresentTarraWarra Biennial, TarraWarra, VIC, Australia
Imaginary Thing
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, USA
Tell Tchaikovsky the News, curated by Torbjørn Rødland
Standard (Oslo), Oslo, Norway
2007
Goth: Reality of the Departed World
Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
Existence – life according to artWaikato Museum, Hamilton, New Zealand
Sculptors Drawing
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, USA
Modelers and Makers: Works in Ceramic
Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Effigies
Modern Art, London
Sculpture
Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Snap Freeze: Still Life NowTarraWarra Museum of Art, Healesville, VIC, Australia
Across the board
Wallspace Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
DE OVERKANT/DOWN UNDER – DEN HAAG SCULPTUUR 07
The Hague, Netherlands
2006
Memento Mori
Mireille Mosler Ltd, New York, NY, USA
Multiplicity: Prints and Multiples
Modern Art, London
Nigel Cooke, Barnaby Furnas, Barry McGee, Matt Greene, Steven Shearer, Ricky Swallow
Modern Art, London
swell – the art in contemporary beach culture
Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul, NSW, Australia
Long Live Sculpture!Middelheim Museum, Antwerpen, Belgium
Reboot – the Jim and Mary Barr Collection Dunedin
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand
2005
Kiss of the Beast
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Lapped
Campbelltown Art Centre, Campbelltown, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Living together is easyArt Tower Mito, Mito, Japan; and National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Getting EmotionalThe Institute of Contemporary Art, ICA, Boston, MA, USA
Before Night – After NatureMonash University Collection, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2004
Strange Weather
Modern Art, London
Sticks & Stones
Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia
The Ten Commandments
Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden, Germany
2003
Home Sweet Home: Works from the Peter Fay CollectionNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT (touring exhibition)
A Modelled World
McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Victoria, Australia
Fair Game. Art + Sport
NGV Response Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Arcadia: the other life of video games
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand; and The Gus Fisher Gallery, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Still Life: The Inaugural Balnaves Foundation Sculpture Project
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Variations on the Theme of Illusion
Emily Tsingou Gallery, London
See here now: Vizard Foundation Art Collection of the 1990’sThe Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
The future in every direction: Joan Clemenger Endowment for Contemporary Australian Art
Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2003
Art + Film
Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Possible Worlds
Artspace, Auckland, New Zealand
Some Things We Like
Asprey Jacques, London
Extended Play: Art Remixing Music
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Roll Out, with Rachel Feinstein, Steven Gontarski, Erick Swenson and Francis Upritchard, curated by Ricky Swallow
Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Guided by Heroes, curated by Raf Simons
Z33, Hasselt, Belgium
The fourth sex - the extreme territory of adolescence, curated by Raf Simons
Pitti Uomo, Stazioni Leopalda, Florence, Italy
2002
Gulliver’s Travels
College of Fine Arts, Sydney, NSW, travelling to: Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, VIC; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, QLD; Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra, ACT; Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Adelaide, SA; and Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth, WA, Australia
1st Floor Final Exhibition
1st Floor, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
People, Places + Ideas, Celebrating Four Decades of the Monash University Collection
Monash University Museum of Art, VIC, Australia
Half The World AwayHallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
Big Bang Theory: Recent Chartwell AcquisitionsAuckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Remix: contemporary art & pop
Tate Liverpool, Liverpool
2001
None More Blacker
200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, VIC; touring to: Geelong Gallery, Geelong, VIC; Shepparton Art Gallery, Shepparton, VIC; Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW; Global Arts Link, Ipswich, QLD, Australia
Casino 2001, 1st Quadrennial of Contemporary Art
Ghent, Belgium
Multistylus Programme: Recent Chartwell Acquisitions
Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
So you want to be a rock star: Portraits and rock music in Australia
National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Bootylicious
Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
A person looks at a work of art…, The Michael Buxton Contemporary Art Collection
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Good work: the Jim Barr and Mary Barr Collection
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
UTOPIA
Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; Kiel Museum of Art, Kiel, Germany; Skulpturens Hus, Stockholm, Sweden
Low-down: Recent Acquisitions
Monash University Collection, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Rubik
Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2000
Keith Edmier, Ricky Swallow, Erick Swenson
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY, USA
The Retrieved Object
Linden Art Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Are You Experienced?
The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand
Uncommon WorldNational Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Spin Me Round
Metro Arts, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Drawn From Life
Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Terra Mirabilis: Wonderland
Centre for Visual Arts, Cardiff, Wales
Brand New Master Copy
UKS Gallery, Oslo, Norway
Rent
Overgaden Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark and ACCA, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1999
Contempora 5
The Ian Potter Museum of Art, The Melbourne University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Spellbound
Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Make it yourself
200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Signs of Life, Melbourne International Biennial 1999
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Group drawing exhibition
Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
Walkmen, Ricky Swallow, David Jolly, David Noonan
Synaethesia Music, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Multiples
Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
Fifty Bucks - a benefit show
Gallery 19, Sydney, NSW, Australia
No Jokes
Stripp Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
1998
Misty V's City Lights 2000
City Lights, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Rubik 3, Video versus Watercolour
36 Wellington Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Institutional Transit Lobby
200 Gertrude Street Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Injection/Acquisition
Performance Space, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Video Soup
Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Hobby Core, curated by Ricky Swallow
Stripp Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Taken, curated by Jon Cattapan
RMIT Project Space, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1997
Beaux Arts Art in The World '98
Passage de Retz, Paris, France
1998
All This And Heaven Too, Adelaide Biennale Exhibition
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Metamorphosis
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, VIC, Australia
Wild Kingdom
Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
1997
Diorama, curated by Charlotte Day
200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Going Nowhere, curated by Julia Gorman
Grey Area Art Space Inc., Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Ear to the Ocean, with Michael Graeve
Grey Area Art Space Inc., Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Gathering
Platform 2, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Selected Collections

Art Gallery of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
Art Gallery of South Australia
Adelaide, Australia
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Perth, Australia
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland, New Zealand
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, University of California
Berkeley, CA, USA
British Museum
London
Burger Collection
Hong Kong, China
City of Melbourne
Australia
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin, New Zealand
Hiscox Art Collection
London
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Monash University Museum of Art
Melbourne, Australia
Museum of Contemporary Art
Sydney, Australia
The Museum of Modern Art
New York, NY, USA
National Gallery of Australia
Canberra, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne, Australia
The Vizard Foundation Art Collection of the 1990s
Melbourne, Australia
Whitney Museum of American Art
New York, NY, USA
Yokohama Museum of Art
Yokohama, Japan
Zabludowicz Collection
London
Georgia Museum of Art
Athens, GA, USA