The best female sculptors you've never heard of
As we wait with baited breath for Rachel Whiteread's upcoming retrospective at Tate Britain, we round up five of the best female sculptors you've never heard of, but ultimately definitely should have
Ryder's sculptural world is one of mystical figures, animals and hybrid creatures made from sawdust, wet plaster, old machine parts, toys, wire 'pancakes', torn scraps of paper, charcoal sticks and acid baths.
Ryder is most renowned today for her Lady Hare sculptures, which have occupied her imagination for several years. Developed as a counterpart to ancient Greek mythology's Minotaur, these hybrid sculptures have the body of a woman – based on her own body – and the head of a hare, and forge powerful images charged with a poignancy and emotion that goes well beyond figurative representation.
Working 'big' is a very significant feature of Sophie's work, and Abby Hignell of Hignell Gallery – the London sculpture gallery that represents Ryder – says 'she enjoys rising to the constructional and creative challenges which flow from this aspiration.'
Image: Sophie Ryder, Curled Miniature, 2005
