PHOTO NEW YORK 2005

CAROLYN RYDER COOLEY

As a performance and installation artist, Ryder Cooly is engaged in a process of developing emotionally driven narrative spaces for viewers to enter into and explore. Abandoned places, found objects and the mysterious lives of animals and insects inform my work. Her creative practice is multi-faceted, ranging from painting to installation, from music to motion picture. She loves to explore, collect things and invent fantasy narratives based on everyday occurrences. Stains, frays and evidence of time are beautiful to her. By using old and layered materials, and layered imagery, she endeavors to engage viewers on multi-sensory levels that alter their experience of time and place. She received a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in sculpture in 1993. She has been an active member of the San Francisco Arts Community, exhibiting and performing in local & international venues including: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts & Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, New Image Arts in Los Angeles, Anno Domini Gallery in San Jose/CA, "Sama-Sama, You're Welcome" mural exchange in Indonesia & Cesta Arts Collective in the Czech Republic.