Veronica Ryan worked with a wide range of materials, often contrasting solidly constructed and cast metal forms with more malleable elements such as dust, feathers, paper, metal mesh, lead foil and canvas.
The idea of containment and the container had been one of the essential concerns of her work over a number of years. Since moving from London to New York in 1990, the capsules, divisions and compartments of her sculptures have become more obvious metaphors for the fracture and alienation of the urban landscape. The dust and debris often contained by these compartments suggested the residues and accretions of intimate lives as well as an underlying investigation into the essential texture of human existence.
