Featured Artist Kenneth Ryden

Artist Kenneth Ryden creates timeless sculpture for private and corporate collections and site-specific environments. See more from this accomplished sculptor by visiting his website.

 

 

My country studio is an inspiring place to live and work. My wife Lynn and I love to observe nature with the many animals and other creatures that live in the woods and creek.

 

 

We also enjoy having horses that we ride on the property and take all over the country trail riding. Two large dogs and two cats share our live-in studio. For me nature is the best teacher; I find that I can stay more grounded while working in the middle of a beautiful setting.

 

 

I enjoy the manmade magnificence of a beautiful city also; the two extremes help me better understand the culture and context around me. I enjoy creating works for public installations, or private collectors, however I continue to create a body of “self motivated art” as research.

 

 

My work often uses representational form as a vehicle of expression. Even my contemporary conceptual oriented works that evolve out of my interest in history and culture are influenced by my love of nature as well.

 

 

As a sculptor I work with a variety of materials and techniques. I chose Kansas University to complete my M.F.A. degree because of its strong program in metal art casting. I also enjoy fabrication techniques in a variety of metals, especially stainless steel, aluminum, and bronze.

 

 

I often incorporate stone and water along with cast bronze in my larger installation works. I choose materials that support concepts and contexts well. If the work is created for outdoor settings I focus on materials that are very durable.

 

 

Although I consider myself to be a working artist first, I have maintained an interest in teaching by working as a professor of art and an artist-in-residence at several institutions of higher education.