Ryne Ormond, born in 1996, spent his youth living in multiple houses due to his divorced families’ instability, awash with turmoil and distrust. He became used to the unstable, but found through creation, an outlet for his struggles. After graduating from Douglas County High School, he began his degree in Fine Arts at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado; there after transferring to the University of Utah in 2017. At the University of Utah, he continued to improve his practice within various mediums and graduated with a major in Sculpture Intermedia and a minor in Ceramics in 2021. This not only acted as a departure from a bed with no home, but also as a way to further grow as an individual and as an artist. This is where he began his use of satire, wit, and dark comedy - through his realization that he was now free in a society he didn’t understand in his practice. The framework of his work tends towards that of a fairytale or fable, where the meaning of the story has to be looked for or experienced through interaction. Ryne’s work grapples with societies’ “blind spots” of human nature, such as ignorance of one’s well-being, the fear of being oneself, and the struggles of knowing but not caring. As he is transferring from the mindset of a student to that of an adult, Ryne has found that his artistic response is in direct contention with the expectations of his non-artistic peers, wherein his use of unpolished and silly caricatures lends them towards the look of disillusionment. The mindset of “strive for beauty through perfection and aesthetics” is one that the modern age of social technology praises, and one that Ryne disagrees with through his practices and mindset. Through the proliferation of “Instagram art” which tends to be soulless and made solely for invisible crowds to praise, he has taken to further pushing his work towards the humorous and rough. As of this moment Ryne’s pursuit is for more cultural research to improve his technical craft as well as his understanding of the people of the world and their response to these mindsets and pursuits. Until then, Ryne will continue to instruct pottery at Stone Bear Studios whilst he pursues his artistic career within his current cultural lens. He Also plans to eventually find some stability in his life as well.
EDUCATION
2021
BFA. Sculpture Intermedia Emphasis, Ceramics Minor, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
2024
Mug Shot: Artistic Drinking Vessels Exhibition, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Arvada, CO.
Beauty Illuminated Online Exhibition, Photo Artfolio, Boston, MA.
2023
RED: Photography of Color, 6th Street Studios & Art Center, Gilroy, CA.
Animal House 2023. Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA.
Figure That: The Human Story. 3 Square Art, Fort Colins, CO. (Honorable Mention)
COLOR 2023 Exhibition. 3 Square Art, Fort Colins, CO. (Booth)
2022
HEADS Magazine, U.D.L.I. Editions. NADA New York City, NY.
Art Fair 14C. Art fair Exhibitor. Jersey City Armory, Jersey City, NJ.
Artistonish Magazine. Online Publication, July 2022. Toronto, Canada.
2021
Art Fair 14C. Art Fair Exhibitor. Glass Gallery at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ.
Cat Calling My Creativity Solo Show, Office Space Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT.
BFA Show, Exhibition and Catalog, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Juried Student Art Exhibition and Catalog, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Hyper Focal, Photography Catalog, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
2020
Relationships National Exhibition, Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO.
UPC Virtual Art Show, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. (Prize Winner)
National Fine Arts Show, Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO.
projectapart.org movement, Sorenson Impact Center, Salt Lake City, UT.
Juried Student Art Exhibition and Catalog, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Things & Pictures of Things, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Visual Evidence, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
2019
Call it Art, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
2018
Art in Form, Trolley Square, Salt Lake City, UT.
RESIDENCIES AND WORKSHOPS
2023-4
Wood-Fire Workshop w/ Matthew Cawley and Justin Lampert. Stone Bear Studios, Denver, CO.
2023
Wood-Fire Workshop w/ Matthew Cawley and Justin Lampert. Stone Bear Studios, Denver, CO.
Abstracting Architecture: Techniques of Sculptural with Sarah Tortora, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO. Sculpture Woodshop.
2020
Making the Personal Resonate with Betsy Schneider, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO. Online Photography Workshop.
Mastering Light with Rob Comeau, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, CO. Online Photography Workshop.
GRANTS AND AFFILIATIONS
2023-4
Instructor/Studio Tech, Stone Bear Studios, Denver, CO.
2021-2
Office Space Gallery, Gallery Assistant, Salt Lake City, UT.
2020
Public Art Commission for the Willard J. Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
Artist Presentation, Douglas County High School, Castle Rock, CO.
2017-22
Sculpture Club Member, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.
SKILLS
Ceramics, Photography, Teaching, Woodworking, Performance, Mold-making, Video, Sound, Small Metals.