For over two decades, Ricky Swallow’s works in bronze have explored the process of conversion that takes place when an object or combination of materials becomes sculpture. He begins with ordinary, domestic materials - such as rope, wood, masking tape, and punctured cardboard – that are then assembled into forms reflecting the details of their own material identities and imperfections. These configurations of objects and textures are then intricately reproduced through analogue processes: initially cast in bronze and then patinated or painted in oils as they continue to be worked on in the studio; Swallow’s participation being a critical part of maintaining connection and control over the final form of the work. The restrained appearance of the resulting sculptures belie their complexity, both materially and technically: the fine threads of a rope cast in metal, or the creases of cardboard enduring through the casting process. In this sense, Swallow’s works fold in subtle references to painting, and specifically the Dutch still life tradition, resonating both in the figurative dimensions of his work as well as in its conceptual underpinnings. But these references are never uncomplicated, the trompe-l'œil effect for instance, present in Swallow’s work since its beginning, has always been a means to an end – an attention trap, a way to slow down perception and experience - rather than an end in itself. What becomes important is the tactility and physical presence of the sculptural components, a registered and experienced behaviour of the elements comprising each piece.

Ricky Swallow was born in 1974 in San Remo, Australia, and lives and works in Los Angeles. In 2005, he represented Australia at the 51st Venice Biennale with the exhibition This Time Another Year. Solo and two-person exhibitions include Modern Art, London (2022); The Huntington Library, San Marino (2012); the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2009); The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2007); and MoMA PS1, Brooklyn (2006). Swallow has also participated in recent group exhibitions at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2018); the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2017); the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2014); and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2014). His works are held in collections including the British Museum, London; LACMA, Los Angeles; MoMA, New York; and the Yokohama Museum of Art. He has contributed writing to catalogues for Christina Ramberg: A Retrospective at The Art Institute of Chicago (Spring 2024); Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard at LACMA (Fall 2024); Brilliant Earth: The Ceramic Sculpture of Tony Marsh at Long Beach Museum of Art (2022); and Woody De Othello (KARMA/Jessica Silverman, New York, 2021). Additionally, he curated exhibitions on the work of Doyle Lane at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles (2020) and New York (2023) Co-editing and contributing a text for the accompanying catalogue (2023).