R y a n D a f f u r n
Drawing is the foundation of my artistic practice. Early on, I created highly involved studies of miniature landscapes using twigs dipped in ink. These were arranged as table-top still lifes with burlap, rocks, sticks and bark. The drawings quickly evolved into imaginative worlds of grand scale, offering a form of escapism and fantasy. A rugged sense of form and a baroque instinct for composition have remained central to my work ever since.
Ryan William Daffurn grew up in Brisbane’s southern Redlands region, once a rich agricultural area. His earliest and most influential artistic mentors were Dr Christine Kirkgarde and Dr Kay Kane at the Balmoral Arts Academy.
In 2000, Daffurn moved to Sydney to undertake full-time fine art training at the prestigious Julian Ashton Art School. He later taught there as part of a Dobell Scholarship and began developing his professional practice with guidance from artistic mentors such as Tim Miller, David Paulson and many others. The school remains an important part of his artistic life.
In 2008, Daffurn was awarded the AME Alice Bale Scholarship, which enabled extensive travel and research across Europe, Russia, the UK and the USA. He briefly studied sculpture at the Florence Academy of Art under Robert Bodem and Cody Swanson, and conducted private research at major collections including the British Museum, Courtauld Institute, National Gallery London, Victoria & Albert Museum, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Copying masterworks and gaining access to private collections provided important artistic experiences.
Upon returning to Australia, Daffurn established an arts warehouse with several colleagues, structured around artist studios, from 2010 to 2015. In this vibrant creative community, he taught a structured atelier curriculum, maintained his own studio practice, and organised and hosted numerous cultural events. Leaving the collective in 2015 marked a pivotal transition toward independence, as he committed to full-time painting practice.
In mid-2015, supported by an Arts Queensland grant and a successful crowdfunding campaign, Daffurn undertook a residency at the Leipzig International Art Programme (LIA) within the historic Spinnerei arts complex in East Germany. This period deeply influenced his artistic development, learning much from their dynamic visual arts community. Living in Leipzig for three years, he was also able to research key historical movements, including the Baroque and Gothic periods, the Neue Sachlichkeit, multiple Secession collectives, Dada, the Symbolists, and European Romantic traditions.
Returning to Australia in 2018, he immediately began an official residency at the isolated township of Hill End, NSW, which evolved into a significant long-term project. The large series titled “Hill End Entangled” was completed in 2025 and showcased as a major solo exhibition at Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane. The event also included a book launch for a lavishly illustrated volume on the Hill End artwork.
In 2023 Daffurn won the Lethbridge $20,000 art prize and the Hornsby Art Prize. That same year he undertook a residency at Sauerbier House, Adelaide, where he deepened his connection to Australian artists such as the renowned war artist Sir Ivor Hele. During his career he was presented state, federal and institutional grants as well as many private commissions.
Daffurn has exhibited in solo, joint, and a myriad of group and award exhibitions across Australia, Germany and London. His work is held in the Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery and the Royal Queensland Art Society collections, as well as private collections in Australia and Germany.
Ryan William Daffurn was elected a member of the Australian Watercolour Institute in 2025.