Born in 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, USA
New York-based artist Matthew Ronay was born in 1976 in Louisville, Kentucky, and studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art before earning his Masters in Fine Arts from Yale University in 2000. Ronay creates hybrid forms that exist between a primordial and futuristic state, which seek to explore ritualistic habits and the relationship between human bodies and the world we inhabit. His hand-crafted, colorful configurations embody our corporeal struggle, reminding us of the power of objects beyond material culture and mass production. Drawing on traditions of folk and pre-avant-garde art, as well as surrealism, mythology, and psychedelia, Ronay has developed a distinct artistic style that draws viewers in with its playfulness and then unveils a deeper, more multidimensional reality.
Ronay has exhibited at institutions including Kunsthalle Lingen, Germany; University of Louisville, Kentucky; Artspace, San Antonio, Texas; Serpentine Gallery, London; Sculpture Center, New York; Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky; and Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, London. Ronay participated in the 2013 Lyon Biennale, curated by Gunnar Kvaran, and the 2004 Whitney Biennial. In 2016, his work was the subject of solo-presentations at the Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida. In 2022, his work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas.
education
2000
- MFA Yale University
1998
- BFA Maryland Institute College of Art
solo shows
2023
- The Tombs Are Upset, Perrotin Hong Kong (forthcoming)
2022
- A Canker in the Leaf, Perrotin Seoul Samcheong, South Korea
- The Crack, the Swell, an Earth, an Ode, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas
2021
- Ligatures, Casey Kaplan, New York, NY
2020
- Sending and Receiving, Perrotin, Shanghai, China
2019
- Polypastoraline, Nils Staerk, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Betrayals of and by the body, Casey Kaplan, New York, NY
2018
- Ramus, Perrotin, Paris, France
2017
- SURDS, Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016
- Matthew Ronay, Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, TX
- Matthew Ronay – Dock, Berth, Antenna, Markus Lüttgen, Cologne, Germany
- Matthew Ronay: When Two Are In One, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
2015
- In and Out and In and Out, Again, Nils Stærk, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Tony Cox & Matthew Ronay: Outer Loop, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
2014
- Organ/Organelle, Marc Foxx, Los Angeles, CA
- Wavelength, Andrea Rosen Gallery 2, New York, NY
- The Door is Open, Kunsthalle Lingen, Lingen, Germany
2013
- Selected Works: 2007 – 2010, University of Louisville's Hite Art Institute, Louisville, KY
- Repeat the Sounding, Lüettgenmeijer, Berlin, Germany
- Mounting toward Zenith / Descending and Disappearing, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
2012
- It Comes in Waves, Nils Staerk, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Between the Worlds, La Conservera, Murcia, Spain
2011
- Between the Worlds, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
2010
- Between the Worlds, ArtPace, curated by Matthew Drutt, San Antonio, TX
2009
- is the shadow, Marc Foxx, Los Angeles, CA
2008
- Mounting Toward Zenith / Descending and Disappearing, Luettgenmeijer, Berlin, Germany
- Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
2006
- Marc Foxx, West Gallery – Project Room, Los Angeles, CA
- Distractions From War, Nils Staerk, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Goin’ Down, Down, Down, Parasol Unit, London, United Kingdom
- Oh My God What Are We Gonna Do?!, Vacio 9, Madrid, Spain
2005
- It’s An Uprising!, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY
- Shine the Light, Marc Foxx, Los Angeles, CA
- Love Will Find A Way, REC. / Esther Schipper, Berlin, Germany
2004
- A Possible New Order of Reconsiderings, presented by Nils Staerk Contemporary Art, Statements - Art 35, Basel, Switzerland
2002
- Catarina Leitão & Matthew Ronay; Tamed Nature & Outlaw Biker Gang, Andrea Rosen, New York, NY
- Garden Party and Four Conversations with Slippage, Nils Staerk, Copenhagen, Denmark
2001
- Matthew Ronay, Marc Foxx, Los Angeles, CA
public collections
- Albright Knox, Buffalo, New York, NY
- ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark
- Astrup Fearnley Museet for Moderne Kunst, Oslo, Norway
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR
- Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
- Fürstenberg Zeitengenössisch, Karlstad, Donaueschingen, Denmark
- Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
- Kistefos, Oslo, Norway
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY
- Pérez Art Museum (PAMM), Miami, FL
- Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
- Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
