About Us
Abbey Ryan • Studio
Visit RyanStudio.blogspot.com
to view Abbey's blog.
Abbey Ryan was born and raised in NJ. She completed undergraduate work in both science and art (BFA in Painting and BA in Scientific/Pre-medical Illustration) at Arcadia University, Glenside, PA; graduate work in medical illustration at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, Baltimore, MD; painting study with David A. Leffel at the Art Students League of New York, NYC; and graduate work in painting (MFA) at Hunter College/CUNY, NYC. As a student, Abbey traveled to the North Pacific to Pohnpei, Micronesia to do volunteer work at the Marine and Environmental Research Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP) and Pohnpei Agriculture and Trade School (PATS). She also worked as a scientific illustrator at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Department of Plant Biology at Stanford University.
Her studio practice is driven by a two-fold path of discovery: Her alla prima painting project speaks to her interest in current applications of traditional oil painting in relation to contemporary notions of globalization, virtuality, and digital interactivity. She credits her painting style to her teacher, contemporary Master - David A. Leffel, at the Art Students League. Her works on paper propel her interest in conceptual approaches that are aligned with the delivery of drawing and painting in their widest context. The conceptual backbone of Abbey's studio work stems from her experiences growing up on the shores of the Atlantic and scuba diving in the warm waters of the North Pacific. In a broad sense, her work reflects the friction and fragility intrinsic to places like these.
Abbey's painting work has been written about in dozens of print and web publications, including a featured article on Abbey and her work in the "Live Your Best Life - Women Who Make Beautiful Things" section of O, The Oprah Magazine (February 2011) issue, Seth Godin's most recent bestseller, Linchpin: Are You Indispensible?, and posts about her blog on BOINGBOING. Through her blog, Abbey's work is in hundreds of private and public collections all over the world including Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, England, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, and Chile.
Abbey’s work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has been featured at Artists Space, NYC; blutenweiss gallery, Berlin, Germany; Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ; Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ; Ice Box Projects Space, Philadelphia, PA; Pratt Munson-Williams-Proctor, Utica, NY; and many others. Recent exhibitions include a solo Fleisher Challenge exhibition at the Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia; Affinity, a four-person exhibition at Mt. Airy Contemporary Artists Space, Philadelphia, PA; 
and group exhibitions at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia, and Gleason Fine Art in Portland, Maine.
In addition to working full time in her studio in Philadelphia, Abbey teaches workshops and is also a visiting assistant professor at Arcadia University. When she's not painting, Abbey loves hiking with her black lab and spending time with her family.
