Studio Sunday: Ricky Swallow
Our Studio Sunday feature for the week is Australian artist Ricky Swallow. Swallow is currently based in Los Angeles, California, where he produces sculptural artworks in a variety of media, including found objects.
I love the close-up image of all the random items in Swallow’s studio! It’s always really fascinating to see the sort of objects that artists keep in their studios, particularly when those objects aren’t necessarily art-related. Swallow has a few figures, a skeleton that looks like it might help with pose practice, numerous postcard-sized drawings and paintings, and more. The lighting in the space and the overall look of these collected artefacts lends an interestingly eclectic atmosphere.
In the above photo, Swallow is shown hard at work on a project -- it looks like the artist is sorting through some images, perhaps drawings or reference images. The studio space itself appears to extend quite a bit behind the artist, giving me the impression that it’s actually quite open and spacious, though Swallow has plenty of furniture and supplies.
Swallow’s most recent works, in 2018, have utilized skeletal geometric and architectural forms. Installed in a gallery space, these works look like the bones of furniture and machines -- right angled pieces of wood hanging in corners, or structures made from curved metal rods installed on the floor.
