Ryan LaBar grew up in Great Falls Montana in the United States, where he received a degree in Biology and Art from Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington. He has worked as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation, the LH Project, California State University Long Beach, Caldera, including international residencies with exhibitions in China, Bali, Poland, Denmark, Korea and the Philippines. Ryan received his MFA at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. A highlight of his career occurred in the spring of 2015, where he became the first prize award recipient of the Virginia A. Groot Foundation. Shortly before winning the prize, Ryan relinquished his position as the program director of the LH Project to pursue opportunities in Jingdezhen China, where he built a studio and currently resides.