Ryan Smitham

Artist in Residence: March / April 2024

ABOUT RYAN SMITHAM

Smitham’s work often includes a juxtaposition, drawing the viewer in with beautiful, organic forms while deliberately pointing towards our complex relationship with land and nature. Ryan’s three-and-a-half-month residency took place from winter 2023 until spring of 2024. While at KOAC he developed a variety of new sculptures based on the Bow River, Typha Latifolia (Cattails) and geologic deep time. The works were produced with plantbased resin, re-purposed paper bags, ceramics, wood, bronze, concrete and core samples from oil sand mines.

Ryan Smitham (b. 1982) is a sculptor and multimedia artist whose work oscillates between material form and concept, exploring complex and tactile questions of land, conflict, and care. Raised on Treaty 7 in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Smitham roots his practice in sustained engagement with place and context through materials and embodied research. He crafts sculptural installations with spatial precision and considered combinations of organic and industrial materials. This process traces uneasy meeting points between the natural and the constructed.

Smitham’s sculpture practice has been shaped by years of mentorship and creative inquiry. He holds an MFA in Sculpture from the Pratt Institute in New York, and a BFA and BEd from the University of Lethbridge. His work has been supported through a variety of influential artist residencies in Alberta and British Columbia, and he has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Canada and the USA.

“Katie is a sculptor I greatly admire. I was honoured to work at her studio and to listen while she shared stories about life and art making.”

See more of Ryan Smitham’s work on his website