Ry Van Der Hout

Ry Van Der Hout (b. 1987, Canada) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice investigates transformation through fragmentation and reflection, using glass and mirrors as both material and metaphor for queer experience and becoming. They create works that challenge how we see ourselves and our environment, inviting viewers to witness how breaking can reveal new possibilities.

Central to Van Der Hout's practice is the innovative use of photographic imagery as a foundational element in creating three-dimensional objects and installations. In their "Twice Broken Glass" series, they explore parallel acts of destruction—shattering one pane through violent impact while precisely cutting another to mirror the breaks, then repairing both identically using traditional stained glass techniques. This investigation continues in their photographic glass portraits, where intimate images printed on glass are deliberately shattered and reconstructed into fragmented new forms, suggesting that when we put ourselves back together after breaking, we become stranger but more authentic versions of ourselves.

Van Der Hout's public works function as large optical devices, reflecting and refracting surrounding space to create ongoing physical dynamics with viewers. Their monumental sculpture "To Reflect Everything" (Washington Square Park, NYC, 2025; Toronto Sculpture Garden, 2023) used hundreds of mirror panels to create an optical device that transforms public space, drawing on the disco ball's history as a symbol of queer sanctuary and the satellite's promise of alternative futures. Their current project "The Shattering" explores Kabbalistic creation mythology through mirrored disco ball sculptures, conjuring both queer notions of transformation (Muñoz) and Jewish concepts of divine vessels shattering and requiring repair.

Van Der Hout holds an MFA from Parsons at The New School and a BFA in Photography from Metropolitan University. Their work has been featured in Time Out NY, NBC News, E-Flux, Chelsea Times, and CBC. Recent solo exhibitions include "Mending Shards" (United Contemporary, 2024) and "To Reflect Everything" (Toronto Sculpture Garden, 2023). They have created public art for NYC Parks, the City of Toronto, and Nuit Blanche. Van Der Hout is the 2026 recipient of the Barbara Spohr Fellowship at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and has been awarded residencies at La Napoule Art Foundation (France) and Mass MoCA. They have been supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts, and were awarded the Emerging Artist Award by the Robert McLaughlin Gallery.