Rob Ryan

Rob Ryan is a British artist and printmaker, born in Akrotiri, Cyprus. He studied Fine Art at Trent Polytechnic before continuing his education at the Royal College of Art in London, where he specialised in printmaking. He lives and works in London.Ryan is best known for his distinctive and highly intricate papercut works, a medium that has become central to his artistic practice since the early 2000s. His compositions frequently combine delicately cut figures, landscapes, plants, birds and decorative motifs with handwritten text. Sentimental, reflective and sometimes humorous, the words incorporated into his works often explore themes of love, relationships, memory, hope and the complexities of everyday life. Many of these texts have an autobiographical quality, giving his work an intimate and immediately recognisable character.Although papercutting remains one of Ryan's signature techniques, his imagery has been translated into a wide range of media, including screenprints, etchings, lasercuts, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and other decorative objects. His original papercuts begin as drawings made directly onto fine paper, which are then meticulously cut by hand using a scalpel.Ryan has exhibited extensively throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. His work has also crossed the boundaries between fine art, illustration and design through collaborations with prominent names including Paul Smith, Liberty of London, Tatty Devine and Vogue.Alongside his visual art practice, Ryan is an accomplished author and illustrator. His publications include This Is For You, A Sky Full of Kindness and the children's trilogy beginning with The Invisible Kingdom. His monograph, I Thought About It in My Head and I Felt It in My Heart but I Made It with My Hands, brings together work from across several decades of his career and explores the ideas, creative processes and personal themes that have shaped his distinctive artistic language.