Paul Ryan

A painter and art critic, Paul Ryan joined the faculty at Principia College in 2016. From 1992 through spring 2016, he taught full time in the Department of Art and Art History at Mary Baldwin University, where he is now Professor Emeritus of Art. He was also the gallery director at Mary Baldwin University from 1993 through 2016. Paul taught critical theory in the MFA program of the Department of Painting and Printmaking in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2005 through 2016.

Scholarly Interests

Paul's professional creative work focuses on painting and drawing. As an abstract painter, his studio practice combines a natural attentiveness to formal problems with a reflective consideration of conceptual ideas. He has also been writing about contemporary art since 1989.

Contributions to Field

Since 1983 Paul has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions at a variety of venues throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions, including Marion Gallery, Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia; Hartell Gallery at Cornell University; The McLean Project for the Arts; The University Gallery at The University of South Carolina; The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; the Moss Art Center at Virginia Tech; and, the Taubman Museum of Art. He is a contributing editor for Art Papers magazine and his writing has appeared in Art Papers, Sculpture magazine, and Art in America magazine.

Awards

Paul is a recipient of The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in Painting in 2016–2017 and 2009–2010. He was also awarded two Mednick Fellowships by the Virginia Association of Independent Colleges to support his studio practice: one in 2014–2015 and one in 1996–1997.

Memberships and Affiliations

• College Art Association (CAA)
• Foundations in Art: Theory and Education (FATE)

Publications and Presentations

• Recent solo exhibitions:
  • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, "consuming illusions," VMFA professional fellowship exhibition, Richmond, Virginia, February–August 6, 2017
  • Reynolds Gallery, "the sun that never sets," Richmond, Virginia, February-April 2016
• Recent publication: A review of two exhibitions, "Drawing on the Left: Ben Shahn and the Art of Human Rights," organized by the Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and "Rudy Sheperd: We are all Travon Martin," organized by 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of Art Papers magazine.

What led you to teaching?

My love of art and its diverse culture of ideas.