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| Ryan Kingslien | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ryan Kingslien |
| Occupation | Sculpture conservator, artist, educator |
Ryan Kingslien is an American sculptor, conservator, curator, and educator known for large-scale public installations, portrait busts, and experimental uses of plaster, bronze, and mixed media. His practice intersects studio sculpture, museum conservation, and community-engaged public art, producing works installed in civic, academic, and museum contexts. He has collaborated with institutions, artists, and cultural organizations across the United States and internationally, engaging with themes of memory, identity, and material transformation.
Born and raised in the Upper Midwest, Kingslien studied studio art and art history before undertaking specialized training in conservation and sculpture. He attended a liberal arts college and pursued graduate coursework and apprenticeships that connected him with programs in conservation and foundry practice associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and regional university art departments. His early mentors included conservators and sculptors who worked in plaster, bronze, and stone, and he completed residencies or fellowships that linked him to municipal arts agencies, museum conservation labs, and artist-run foundries. Those formative experiences exposed him to professional networks that included curators from institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, conservators from the American Institute for Conservation, and faculty from accredited studio programs.
Kingslien’s professional trajectory encompasses studio commissions, conservation projects, and curatorial collaborations. He has worked in artist studios and foundries alongside practitioners connected to the National Endowment for the Arts, municipal public-art programs, and university arts faculties. His career features partnerships with civic arts councils, cultural trusts, and museum exhibition teams, and he has participated in group and solo shows organized by galleries, museums, and nonprofit arts organizations. Alongside making original sculpture, he has undertaken conservation and restoration work for collections linked to regional museums, historical societies, and municipal archives, bringing him into professional relationships with staff from institutions such as the American Alliance of Museums and state historical commissions.
Kingslien’s major projects include site-specific commissions, portrait commissions, and series of studio works shown in galleries and museums. His public commissions have been installed through collaborations with city arts programs and university campuses, often coordinated with planning offices, public-arts panels, and cultural foundations. He has exhibited in venues affiliated with the Institute of Contemporary Art, regional art museums, university galleries, and artist-run spaces, and his work has been included in biennials and themed group exhibitions curated by professionals from institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Walker Art Center, the Brooklyn Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Kingslien has also presented work at art fairs and community festivals organized by cultural organizations and municipal events bureaus. His portrait commissions for private collectors and civic institutions have resulted in bronze and plaster busts displayed in municipal buildings, academic halls, and memorial sites associated with foundations and nonprofit trusts.
Kingslien has taught sculpture, moldmaking, casting, and conservation principles in university and community settings, often through partnerships with art departments, continuing-education divisions, and community arts centers. He has led workshops for students and professionals with affiliations to institutions like the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Rhode Island School of Design, and state universities, and has participated in lecture series and panel discussions convened by museum education departments and professional associations. His outreach work includes community-based public-art projects coordinated with neighborhood associations, cultural affairs offices, and nonprofit arts organizations, and he has collaborated with youth programs, veterans’ organizations, and historical societies to develop participatory art-making initiatives.
Kingslien’s sculptural language emphasizes material presence, surface texture, and the interplay of additive and subtractive processes. His work reflects influences from historical and contemporary sculptors, conservators, and craft traditions associated with bronze casting, plaster modeling, and foundry techniques. References in his practice can be traced to landmark figures and movements represented in collections of institutions such as the Tate Modern, the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art, and university sculpture archives. He cites an engagement with approaches to portraiture and public monumentality that resonate with works displayed at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Rodin Museum, and civic sculpture ensembles by artists linked to twentieth-century commissions. Conservation practice informs his attention to patina, stability, and material longevity, intersecting with standards promoted by the American Institute for Conservation and conservation departments at major museums.
Kingslien has received grants, residencies, and awards from arts organizations, foundations, and municipal arts programs recognizing his contributions to public art, conservation, and arts education. He has been a recipient or finalist for project funding administered by state arts councils, regional arts foundations, and national grantmakers connected to the National Endowment for the Arts and philanthropic trusts. Residencies and fellowships have brought him to artist colonies and conservation centers associated with university museums and cultural institutions. His projects have been acknowledged in exhibition catalogs, museum bulletins, and arts journalism produced by regional newspapers and national arts publications.
Category:American sculptors Category:Art conservators