ABOUT
Ryan Hackett
Born 1976 | Berkeley, CA
Ryan Hackett is an artist, designer, and educator based in Washington, DC. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2007 and his BA in studio art from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1999. Between academic pursuits, he co-founded Decatur Blue, a DC-based collective that blurred the line between art and institution, shifting among the roles of artist, artwork, curator, and gallery.
His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collection of the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies program at the U.S. Embassy in Madagascar. In 2010, he was awarded the Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize for his exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Past exhibitions include Natural Synthetics at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, NY; Interspecies Transmission at G Fine Art, Washington, DC; Mutual Friends at Present Co. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Catalyst at the American University Museum at the Katzen, Washington, DC; and Beyond Human at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.
Focus
My work draws upon the forms, colors, and sounds of natural and artificial environments, synthesizing them into quiescent states of connection: moments when natural and artificial elements find harmony, defying the imagined boundary between what is and is not natural. I am captivated by things that survive in the background, the sublayers and less dominant areas of our human experience. Deep sea creatures, lichen, electric bass players, microscopic organisms, fading memories, and subtle behavioral patterns are among the many undercurrents that run through my work.
Working in a variety of media enables me to see from multiple perspectives, providing a wider view and enriched depth of investigation. Working in traditional 2D, 3D, or time-based media, the process remains the same: to sample, transform, and connect these otherwise disparate elements until the line between them dissolves and something new emerges. The work moves between the raw and the streamlined, the wild and the controlled, searching for unseen connections as the artificial merges with the natural. The contrasting elements amplify both their differences and their similarities. This is where I find psychological clarity: understanding what something truly is by embracing what it is not.
-Ryan Hackett, 2026
CV
Education
2007 M.F.A., San Francisco Art Institute; San Francisco, CA 1999 B.A., Studio Art, University of Maryland; College Park, MD 1995 Rutgers University; New Brunswick, NJ
Selected Exhibitions
2025
D.I.Y. in the District, MLK Library, Washington, DC
2020
The Unknowable Present, COVID-19 Virtual Exhibition, curated by Chandi Kelley, Washington, DC
2018-2019
16th Annual Transformer Silent Auction, Corcoran School of The Arts and Design, Washington, DC
15th Annual Transformer Silent Auction, Corcoran School of The Arts and Design, Washington, DC
2017
The Dog and Pony Show, Area 405, Baltimore, MD
Outside Narratives, CUA, Washington, DC
Silent Auction to benefit Transformer, American University Museum, Washington, DC
2016
Silent Auction to benefit Transformer, American University Museum, Washington, DC
2013-2014
Beyond Human, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
2012
Mutual Friends, Present Company, Brooklyn, NY
Los Angeles Art Show, 2012, Los Angeles, CA
LUX, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
Signals, DCAC, Washington, DC
PpPp, Present Company, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Natural Synthetics, The Arsenal Gallery, Central Park, NYC
Transformer's Silent Auction, Corcoran Gallery of Art, DC
Dutch Auction 2011, Jane Haslem Gallery; Washington, DC
2010
US Department of State, Permanent Collection, United States Embassy; Antananarivo, Madagascar
Catalyst, American Art Museum, Washington DC
Neon Gore, Space 9; Kyongbuk University, Daegu, South Korea
The Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize 2010, Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore, MD
Transformer's Silent Auction, Mexican Cultural Institute, DC
Maryland Art Place Silent Auction, MAP Gallery; Baltimore, MD
2009
Atmospheres, Doyo; Daegu, South Korea
MGM Grand, Project City Center Permanent Collection, Las Vegas, NV
Red Tape > Ryan Hackett, Meat Market; Washington, DC
The Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize 2009, Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore, MD
WPA Silent Auction, American University Museum; Washington, DC
2008
Root Division’s 7th Annual Art Auction, Root Division; San Francisco, CA
Interspecies Transmission, Solo Show, G Fine Art; Washington, DC
The Sky Is Falling, Spur Projects; Portola Valley, CA
2007
Evolutions of Paint and Sound, Solo Show, Spur Projects; Portola Valley, CA
Freaks of Nature, Bronx River Art Center; Bronx, NY
Taste, Root Division; San Francisco, CA
Vernissage, SFAI MFA Exhibition; San Francisco, CA
2006
Recent Graduate Work, Diego Rivera Gallery; San Francisco, CA
Impressive Nature, 1015 Folsom; San Francisco, CA
Woodlands, Swell Gallery; San Francisco, CA
2005
Blueprints for Sleepwalking, Gensler; Washington, DC
Cubicle 10, Curated by Billy Colbert, Cubicle 10; Baltimore, MD
2004
Omniart 2 (during Art Basel Miami), Curated by Tina Spiro; Miami, FL
Silent Auction To Benefit Transformer Gallery, Fusebox; Washington, DC
CORE 13, Core; Washington, DC
Anonymous, Flashpoint; Washington, DC
Plastic Tactics, Curated By Andrea Polan, Artscape; Baltimore, MD
Resolutionz, Decatur Blue @ Signal 66; Washington, DC
2003
Easy Dubbing, Curated by Mario Cader-Frech (during Art Basel Miami), 1674 Meridian; Miami Beach, FL
Space Invaders, Tyler School of Art; Philadelphia, PA
Danger, San Joaquin Delta College; Stockton, CA
Baba, Decatur Blue @ Signal 66; Washington, DC
Art Night: Annual Auction and Exhibition, Hickock, Warner, and Cole Architecture Firm; Washington, DC
2002
Curator’s Choice: The WPA\C’s 2002 Auction Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art; Washington, DC
Savage Love, Signal 66; Washington, DC
Art Night: Annual Auction and Exhibition, Hickock, Warner, and Fox Architecture Firm; Washington, DC
2001
Lucky 7, Millennium Art Center; Washington, DC
Rug Burn, Decatur Blue Event at Adams Morgan Warehouse; Washington, DC
Art Night: Annual Auction and Exhibition, Hickock, Warner, and Fox Architecture Firm; Washington, DC
Recent Treatments of Tranquility, Monterey; Washington, DC
Distance, Decatur Blue; Washington, DC
Talavera’s Review, Decatur Blue; Washington, DC
2000
Aids Action/ Starwood Urban: Evening of the Arts, Dual Exhibition: Aids Action/ Starwood Urban; Washington, DC
Penta Luna, Decatur Blue; Washington, DC
Art Night: Auction and Exhibition, Hickock, Warner, and Fox Architecture Firm; Washington, DC
Art-O-Matic, Washington, DC
Art Romp, The Warehouse; Washington, DC
Decatur Blue Inaugural Show, Decatur Blue; Washington, DC
1999
Fast Forward: The WPA/Corcoran 20th Anniversary Exhibition and Auction, Corcoran Gallery of Art; Washington, DC
Honors and Achievements
Outstanding Adjunct Faculty, UMGC, 2019-2021
Certificate of Teaching Excellence, Montgomery College, 2009
The Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize 2010
Graduate Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute 2005-2007
Articles
McCabe, Bret. “The Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize Finalists Exhibition,” Baltimore City Paper. (July 8, 2009) Smith, Tim. “A Collage Of Ideas,” The Baltimore Sun. (June 28, 2009) Judkis, Maura. “Creating A Buzz,” The Onion (A.V. Section). (September 25, 2008) Mahoney, J.W. “Report From Washington D.C., To a Different Drum,” Art in America (May 2008) Donohoe, Victoria. “Space Invaders,” Philadelphia Inquirer. (September 21, 2003) Dawson, Jessica. “Decatur: An Intermittent Turn-On,” The Washington Post. (February 6, 2003) Jenkins, Mark. “Resolutionz,” Washington City Paper. (December 26, 2003) Franke-Ruta, Garance. “Distance,” Washington City Paper. (January 11, 2002) Foster, Margaret. “House of Blues: On U Street, five guys dream a little about D.C.’s alternative arts scene,” Washington Flyer Magazine. (October 2001) Dawson, Jessica. “A Space of Their Own: At Decatur Blue, Art Minus the Middleman.” The Washington Post. (November 30, 2000)