Rial Rye

Rial Rye (b. 1987) is a self-taught, Atlanta-based artist whose work examines the valuation and visibility of labor in the United States. Repurposing as art media the tools of working class occupations, like construction, manufacturing, childcare, and custodial work, Rye imbues these items with an aesthetic beauty, elevating them to positions of prominent display that they are typically denied. By transforming these materials into works of fine art, Rye simultaneously renders them useless and transforms them into objects of wealth and status, inverting their utilitarian and economic value. In so doing, Rye’s work invites viewers to critically reflect upon what forms of labor are rewarded in American culture, and the paradoxical devaluation of the work that is most hazardous, strenuous, and essential to the building and maintenance of the wealthiest nation in history.
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Rye's work has been supported by The Nexus Fund, The City of Madison Public Arts Commission, and The Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center Studio Artist Program. He has exhibited widely across the United States, including solo and duo exhibitions at Spruill Gallery, ArtPrize 2023, The Creative Arts Guild of Georgia, and The Artistry Workshops & Gallery, and group exhibitions hosted by The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at the University of Alabama, The Coca-Cola Company, The Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, The Thompson Gallery of Art at Furman University, Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, ArtFields 2024, The Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, and The Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College. He has been the topic of numerous articles in popular press, including a feature on emerging Atlanta artists in Whitehot Magazine, one of the world's leading arts publications, and a cover story by The Georgia Voice, the southeast's premier LGBTQ+ media outlet.