Dr. Ryan Presley was born in 1987 in Alice Springs, and currently lives and works in Brisbane. His father’s family is Marri Ngarr and originate from the Moyle River region in the Northern Territory. His mother’s family were Scandinavian immigrants to Australia. Presley’s work has been included in Just Not Australian, Artspace (2019), Trade Markings (Frontier Imaginaries Ed No. 5), Van Abbemuseum, Netherlands (2018); the 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Darwin; and the TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation (both 2016). His work is held in public collections at the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Queensland Art Museum, Murdoch University, and the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (all in Australia). Presley completed a PhD at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, in 2016. His current project, “Prosperity: An In-Depth Analysis of the Blood Money Series” is supported by the Griffith University’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Scheme. His solo exhibition Ryan Presley: Prosperity was held at the Institute of Modern Art in 2018.
Artist Curriculum Vitae of Ryan Presley
Academic Qualifications
2013 – 2016 Doctor of Philosophy with Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship
2009 – 2010 Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours – First Class Honours
2007 – 2009 Bachelor of Visual Arts – Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art
Employment
2017 – 2019 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Griffith University
2019 – 2019 Keynote Speaker, ‘Deathscapes: Mapping Race and Violence in Settler States’, Launch Symposium, The Settlement, Sydney, Australia
2017 – 2017 Adjunct Research Fellow at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
2014 – 2014 Symposium Speaker, ‘DEBT’, Courting Blakness Symposium, UQ St. Lucia
2011 – 2013 ITAS Tutor, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
2011 – 2019 Board Member, ‘Eyeline Magazine’, Q.U.T. (Voluntary)
2011 – 2011 Panel Speaker, ‘Art, Place and Identity’, Flying Arts Forum, SLQ
2011 – 2011 I.A.P.P. Course Tutor, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
2011 – 2011 Panel Speaker, ‘Colourise’, Brisbane International Film Festival, City Library
2008 – 2010 Art Work-shop Facilitator, Youth Culture Nights, MPCC
2008 – 2010 NAIDOC Art and Culture Workshops, Musgrave Hill Primary School
2007 – 2011 Dancer, Songman & Didgeridoo player for Nunukul Kunjeil Dance Troupe
2006 – 2007 Administration & Cultural Programs Assistant, Musgrave Park Cultural Centre
2005 – 2006 Indigenous Projects Intern, Exhibitions Department, Queensland Art Gallery
Selected Award Exhibitions
2016 ‘Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, MAGNT, Darwin
2013 ‘National Artists’ Self Portrait Prize’, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane
2012 ‘The Churchie: National Emerging Art Competition’, GUAG Gallery, Brisbane
2012 ‘Westpac Redlands Art Prize’, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales
2011 ‘Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award’, Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia
2011 ‘HATCHED: National Graduate Show’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art
2010 ‘The Graduate Art Show & Awards’, GUAG Gallery, Brisbane (Winner)
2010 ‘The Churchie: National Emerging Art Competition’, GUAG Gallery, Brisbane
2009 ‘The Graduate Art Show & Awards’, GUAG Gallery, Brisbane (Commendation)
2009 ‘2009 Silk Cut Award’, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2009 ‘Eracism: 2009 Youth Multimedia Competition’, Y.A.N.Q., West End – (Winner)
Solo Exhibitions
2019 'Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal', Sydney Festival, Presented by MCA (Installation/Performance) link here
2018 ‘Prosperity’, Project Rooms, Melbourne Art Week, Presented by IMA
2018 ‘For What It’s Worth (Not For Sale)’, Tweed Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales
2018 ‘Prosperity’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Queensland
2017 ‘Terror Island (Wish You Were Here)’, Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane
2016 ‘Themesong’, Webb Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, Queensland
2014 ‘Lesser Gods’, Metro Arts, Brisbane, Queensland
2014 ‘Lesser Gods’, Next Wave Festival, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2014 ‘Lesser Gods’, Human Rights and Art and Film Festival, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
2012 ‘The Good Earth’, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane
2011 ‘Blood Money’, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 ‘QUEEN’S LAND: Black portraiture’, Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, Australia (Commissioned)
2019 ‘Just Not Australian’, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
2018 ‘Primavera: Young Australian Artists’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
2018 ‘Lucky?’, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, Victoria, Australia
2018 ‘Trademarkings (Frontier Imaginaries Ed. No. 5)’, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2017 ‘The Standard Length of a Miracle’, by Goldin+Senneby, Institute of Modern Art (Collaborator)
2017 ‘Toxic Assets (Frontier Imaginaries Ed. No. 4)’, e-flux, New York, USA
2016 ‘New World Order’, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, New South Wales
2016 ‘International Academic Printmaking Alliance Exhibit’, Taimiao Art Gallery, Tiananmen, China
2016 ‘Jerusalem Show VIII’, Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem, Palestine
2016 ‘TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation’, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria
2016 ‘Creative Accounting’, UQ Art Museum, (Toured Nationally)
2016 ‘Frontier Imaginaries: No Longer at Ease’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
2016 ‘100% Brisbane’, Museum of Brisbane (Commissioned)
2015 ‘Post-Hybrid: Re-imagining the Australian Self’, John Curtin Gallery, Perth
2015 ‘Out of Queensland: New Indigenous Textiles’, Cairns Regional Art Gallery
2015 ‘Mirror Image: prints and plates’, Gympie Regional Art Gallery, Queensland
2015 ‘Body Politic’, Icebox Project Space, Crane Arts, Philadelphia USA
2015 ‘Saltwater Country’, AAMU: Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Netherlands
2015 ‘Saltwater Country’, Australian Embassy, Washington D.C., USA
2014 ‘Saltwater Country’, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Australia (Toured Nationally)
2014 ‘SOLID! Contemporary Queensland Indigenous Sculpture’, Cairns Regional Art Gallery
2014 ‘Kyoto Hanga 2014’, Fukuyama Art Museum, Fukuyama, Japan
2014 ‘Kyoto Hanga 2014’, Kyoto Municipal Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan
2014 ‘Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War’, UQ Art Museum, Queensland
2014 ‘Courting Blakness’, University of Queensland, St. Lucia
2013 ‘Point to Points: Brisbane to Tokyo Exchange’, POP Gallery, South Brisbane
2012 ‘In the red; on the vibrancy of things’, UQ Anthropology Museum, Brisbane
2012 ‘PICA Salon’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Western Australia
2012 ‘Picture This’, Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria
2012 ‘MoNow: Manifestations of Now’, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
2012 ‘Animal/Human’, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Queensland
2012 ‘NEW: Selected Recent Acquisitions’, UQ Art Museum, Queensland
Residency
2018 ‘Artist in Residence Program’, Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, NSW
2015 ‘Cicada Press: Indigenous Residency Program’, Cicada Press, CoFA, Sydney
Selected Publications as Artist
Convery, S., 2019, ‘Look again: the artist reinventing Australian money for postcolonial payback’ The Gaurdian, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jan/24/look-again-the-artist-reinventing-australian-money-for-post-colonial-payback, Last modified on Thu 24 Jan 2019 16.14 AEDT
Beck, N., 2019, ‘Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal’, 2ser 107.3 ‘So Hot Right Now’ (radio program), https://2ser.com/blood-money-currency-exchange-terminal/, Aired 26th January 2019.
Martin-Chew, L., 2019, ‘Cool Hunter : Ryan Presley’ Art Collector’, Art Collector, Vol. 86, Jan-Mar 2019, pp. 65 – 67.
Wlazlo, D., 2018, ‘Melbourne Art Fair’, MEMO Review, https://memoreview.net/blog/melbourne-art-fair-and-spring1883
Que, C., 2018, ‘Melbourne Art Fair : ‘finding its political and global footing’, Ocula, Ocula Report 9th August, https://ocula.com/magazine/reports/melbourne-art-fair-finding-its-political-and-/
Maunder, T., 2018, ‘Blood Money: Ryan Presley and Tess Maunder In Conversation’, Art + Australia Online, http://www.artandaustralia.com/online/discussions/blood-money-ryan-presley-and-tess-maunder-conversation.
Moulton, K., 2018, ‘Prosperity’, un Projects Reviews, http://unprojects.org.au/un-extended/reviews/ryan-presley/
Ed. King, M., 2018, Ryan Presley : Prosperity, IMA Publications, Fortitude Valley
Waterbright, S., 2018, ‘Ryan Presley: Terror Island (Wish You Were Here)’, eyeline magazine, issue 89, pg. 92, https://www.eyelinepublishing.com/eyeline-89/review/ryan-presley
Browning, D., 2018, ‘White saviours, black demons: Christianity and colonialism’ AWAYE! Radio National, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/white-saviours,-black-demons:-the-nexus-between-christianity-an/9626498
Presley, R., 2018, ‘Prosperity’, Art Monthly Australasia, No. 306, April, pp. 52 – 62.
Sciarone, N., 2018, ‘Trade Markings at Van Abbe – Contextualizing trade and it’s present traces’, Metropolis M, Issue no. 6, Dec-Jan 20181, https://www.metropolism.com/en/reviews/35448_van_abbe_trade_markings
Ed. Foley, F., Nicoll, F. & Martin-Chew, L. 2015, Courting Blakness, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia
Buttrose, E., 2015, ‘To the fore: The growing legacy of QCA's bachelor of contemporary Australian indigenous art’, Art Monthly Australia, No. 279, May, pp. 52 – 55
Baxter, V., 2014, ‘Blak Wave Rising’, Real Time Arts, issue #120 April-May 2014 pg. 34 – 36, http://www.realtimearts.net/article/issue120/11539
Browning, D., 2013, ‘New Currency: Ryan Presley’ Artlink: Indigenous re-visions, vol.33, pp. 98 – 101.
Browning, D., 2013, ‘The colour of money: Ryan Presley’ AWAYE! Radio National, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/the-colour-of-money3a-ryan-presley/4730184.
Daw, R., 2012, ‘Animal/Human’ Artlink: Experiment, vol.32:3, pp. 110 – 1113, https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/3865/animal-human/
Taylor, A., 2012, ‘Artwork has real currency’, Sydney Morning Herald, https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/artwork-has-real-currency-20120428-1xr9x.html
Wills, G., 2011, ‘Preview: Ryan Presley’, Artist Profile, Issue 16 2011, pg. 138 – 139
McDermott, D., 2011, ‘ARTBREAK: ArtStart – Ryan Presley’, SBS STVDIO, television interview, videorecording
Scollay, R., 2011, ‘Artist features people of note’, Koori Mail, Edition 510, Wednesday 21st September, pg. 82
Radok, S., 2011 (ed.), ‘Emerging Talent’, Artlink Indigenous: Beauty and Terror , vol.31, no. 2, pg. 13
Collections
Anglican Church Grammar School Art Collection, Brisbane
Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns
Gadens Lawyers Art Collection, Brisbane
Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Brisbane
Murdoch University Art Collection, Perth
Museum of Brisbane
Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre
University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, Brisbane
Selected Publications as Writer
Presley, R. 2019, ‘Beacons of Hope’, Artlines Magazine, QAGOMA Publications, pp. 16 – 24
Presley, R. 2018, ‘Spirit Trade’ in Ryan Presley : Prosperity, IMA Publications, pp. 73 – 93
Presley, R. 2018, ‘Prosperity’, Art Monthly Australasia, No. 306, April, pp. 52 – 62
Presley, R. 2017, ‘Judy Watson’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
Presley, R. 2017, ‘Fiona Foley’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
Presley, R. 2017, ‘Reko Rennie’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
Presley, R. 2016, ‘They say good fences make good neighbours’, in Over the Fence Contemporary Indigenous Photography from the Corrigan Collection, University of Queensland Press: St Lucia.
Presley, R. 2015, ‘DEBT’, in Courting Blakness: Recalibrating Knowledge in the Sandstone University, University of Queensland Press: St Lucia, pp. 136 – 141