Robert Ryman

Since the mid 20th Century, Robert Ryman’s work has taken a square, monochromatic format, predominantly using zinc white pigments. Impressively, this homogeneity of design is balanced by a bold experimentation with all other aspects of painting, using a variety of material supports and employing a wide range of scales. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1930, the artist studied at Tennessee Polytechnic Institute and the George Peabody College for Teachers. In 1952, the artist moved to New York City, and quickly became interested in the work of abstract expressionist painters. Ryman soon devoted his life to making art, and has consistently exhibited around the world since his first solo exhibition in 1967. In addition to participating in Documentas V (1972), VI (1977), and VII (1982), the 1976, 1978, and 1980 Venice Biennales, and the 1977, 1987, and 1995 Whitney Biennials, the artist has been given retrospective exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Tate Modern, London, among other prominent institutions. Ryman was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.