Raised in Montana, USA, Ryan LaBar studied Biology and Art before working for numerous institutions as a resident artist, such as the Archie Bray Foundation, LH Projects, and California State University.
His projects then started to travel beyond the American frontiers, to China, Korea, or even Poland.
In 2014, Ryan left his hometown for Jingdezhen in China, where he established the Lab Arts, his personal studio and innovation center.
Settled in the historical city of imperial Chinese porcelain, the artist works with clay to create abstract sculptures and volumes where curves intertwine. Ryan LaBar uses the ancient craftsmanship to create important wall installations and sculptures, where movements and tensions punctuate the whole. The artist sees these shapes as complex systems, dense and balanced at the same time.
For LaBar, his creative process is the very foundation of his concept: the shapes he creates regroup individual elements, that in turn communicate, intertwine, and clash the general shape made by these elements brought together.
Nowadays, Ryan Labar appears as a prolific artist, whose creations are found in both private and public collections. Each day, his meticulous production grows, in the heart of the historical hometown of Chinese clay production of the last two centuries.
RYAN LABAR "Direction Is Found Within" sculpture Chinese imperial porcelain H 25,1 x W 22,8 x D 11,9 inches H 64 x W 58 x D 33 cm China, 2020
RYAN LABAR "She Said" sculpture Chinese imperial porcelain H 25,1 x W 15,3 x D 10,2 inches H 64 x W 39 x D 26 cm China, 2020
RYAN LABAR "Getting Up After the Fight" sculpture Chinese imperial porcelain H 23,2 x W 22 x D 14,5 inches H 59 x W 56 x D 37 cm China, 2020
RYAN LABAR "Too Many Options" sculpture Chinese imperial porcelain H 22,8 x W 26,7 x D 14,5 inches H 58 x L 68 x P 37 cm China, 2020
RYAN LABAR "Finding A Way Out" sculpture Chinese imperial porcelain H 24,4 x W 23,2 x D 16,5 inches H 62 x W 59 x D 42 cm China, 2020
RYAN LABAR "Layers of White" Chinese Imperial Porcelain Wall art China, 2019H 92,5 x L 81,8 x 4,3 inchesH 235 x L 208 x P 11 cm
RYAN LABAR "The First Layers of Black" Chinese Imperial Porcelain Set of 20 sections for wall installationH 92,5 x L 81,8 x 4,3 inchesH 235 x L 208 x P 11 cmChine, 2019