Ryan Mendoza (1971)

Ryan Mendoza

Ryan Mendoza is an American contemporary artist. He is best known for his large-scale installations and sculptures that explore themes of memory, identity and social justice. He works and lives between Naples and Berlin.

Mendoza often works with found objects and materials, reworking them to create new meanings and contexts. He has created installations using discarded and forgotten objects such as abandoned houses and furniture to create powerful commentaries on the human condition.

One of Mendoza's most famous works is White House, which he created in 2016. The installation was a replica of the house Rosa Parks lived in after her famous act of civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama. Mendoza moved the entire house from Detroit to Berlin and opened it as a public exhibition. The work was a powerful commentary on the ongoing struggle for civil rights in the US and around the world.

Mendoza's work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows around the world, including the Venice Biennale, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has received several awards and grants for his work, including a grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation in 2004 and a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in 2011.