About | Ryan Sweere | Artist

Ryan Sweere is an American artist who appropriates various artistic styles, historical themes & imagery to create his own one-of-a-kind artworks.

Born in 1976 in Owatonna, Minnesota, he was notably impressed at an early age by the stunning showcase of historical architecture surrounding him. His parents’ large Victorian home, filled with art and antiques, was located just a few blocks away from Louis Sullivan’s National Farmers’ Bank, widely recognized as one of the premier examples of “Prairie School Architecture” in America. Specifically influential to him were the decorative stenciled and terra cotta elements of George Elmslie, stained glass arches of Louis J. Millet and pastoral murals by Oskar Gross, all housed within this architectural wonder.

Ryan’s earliest art creations were inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, punk rock album covers, screen-printed skateboard graphics, illustrated graphic novels and psychedelic poster art. He often sourced imagery from National Geographic and Time Life photography books for practicing drawing and painting. His mother’s love of art nouveau and Alphonse Mucha, as well as teaching Ryan the finer points of calligraphy made a lasting impact on him. In high school, he studied visual art at the MN Perpich Arts High School and thereafter enrolled at the College of Associated Arts in Saint Paul, MN. After his freshman year, in 1995 he studied abroad for ten months in Florence, Italy at Studio Arts Center International (SACI), specifically focusing on art history, oil and fresco painting. Upon returning home, he studied both fine art and graphic design and eventually completed his BFA in Painting at CAA in 1998, which subsequently was known as College of Visual Arts (CVA) until its closure in 2013.

Throughout his early career as a commercial artist, Ryan has worked at advertising firms, a large scale sculpture studio and a traditional animation studio, all the while building an immense body of fine art covering different styles and themes, many of which are held in private collections and public spaces. For the past 20 years, he has worked as a graphic designer for a leading worldwide provider of outdoor turf and landscape equipment.

He currently resides in Eagan, MN with his wife and three daughters in their architecturally significant home designed by John Henry Howe (1913–1997), an American architect who was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. Ryan’s oeuvre continues to evolve in surprising ways and rarely falls into any one genre or medium.

Photo of Ryan Sweere, American artist.

CV

Education
1994 – 1998 College of Visual Arts BFA – Painting Saint Paul, MN
1995 – 1996 Studio Arts Center International, Florence, Italy
1992 – 1994 Minnesota Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN

Solo Exhibitions
2014 “On The Bus” Owatonna Art Center, Owatonna, MN
2007 “Transit” Normandale College Kopp Student Center, Bloomington, MN
2007 “Past & Present” Bloomingdales, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
2005 “Loring Art Gallery” Dunn Bros. Café Minneapolis
2004 “Get on the Bus” MoXie Salon and Gallery Minneapolis, MN
2003 “16A” Clown Lounge Gallery Saint Paul, MN
1998 “The House is Alive!” MCAE Alumni Gallery Golden Valley, MN
1997 “Interiors” CVA Summit Gallery Saint Paul, MN

Group Exhibitions
2017 “Foundlore 2” Vine Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2013 “Summer/Fall Healing Arts” Owatonna Hospital, Owatonna, MN
2011 “Foundlore” Vine Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2008 “Sweere Family” Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault, MN
2006 “Members Juried Exhibit” Bloomington Center for the Arts, Bloomington, MN Honorable Mention
2005 “Visions of World Religions” Outsiders and Others, Minneapolis, MN
2004 “Immigration” The Minneapolis Foundation, Minneapolis, MN
2004 “Ryan Sweere/Kristoffer West Johnson” Speedboat Gallery, Saint Paul, MN
2003 “Fine Arts Exhibit” Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul, MN
2003 “Juried Figure Show” Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Minnetonka, MN 3rd prize
2002 “Sweere Family” Historic Sullivan Bank, Owatonna, MN
2001 “Sweere & Bloom” Owatonna Art Center, Owatonna, MN
1999 “Moveable Feast” Minneapolis Government Center, Minneapolis, MN
1997 “Sweere & Skluzacek” Theatre in the Round, Minneapolis, MN
1995 “Sweere, Fioré & Hueppi” Gallery 005, Florence, Italy