Olney Marie Ryland: Urbane Facades

September 18– December 7, 2025

Olney Marie Ryland, 1698 Weeksville Collection, 2022, 5/8 thick cabinet-grade plywood, acrylic paint & stucco, 10.5 x 18 x 26 inches. Courtesy of the artist and the Weeksville Hertiage Center.

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 18, 2025, 4:30–7:30pm

Urbane Facades, the first solo exhibition of Addisleigh Park, Queens–based artist Olney Marie Ryland, presents the largest collection to date of her meticulously constructed wooden building facades. For more than thirty years, Ryland has crafted these works, drawing inspiration from buildings across Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Some are chosen for their historical significance, others for their elegant design—all evoking civic pride through the language of architecture.

Notable works include facades of the Hunterfly Houses at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn—one of the first free Black communities in the U.S. during the 19th century—and of San Juan Hill, the former neighborhood that gave way to Lincoln Center. Reflecting on her recreations of Weeksville’s houses, Ryland describes her intention as “continuing the legacy of Joan Maynard (one of Weeksville Heritage Center’s founders), sharing the importance of African-American heritage here for future generations and telling the story over and over and over again.” Also featured in the exhibition, Ryland constructed a miniature museum based on the library and herbarium building at the Bronx’s New York Botanical Garden. Inside this "museum" miniature artworks by friends and members of her tight-knit community hang on the walls, fireplaces, and easels.

Born in Harlem and adopted at a young age, Ryland credits her woodworking skills to her adoptive father, Howard, who taught her to use power tools when she was just five years old. She fully embraced this gift after his passing in 1989, when she began building dollhouses before developing her signature series of tall, slender townhouses and brownstones. Ryland’s practice is deeply tied to her personal history in Addisleigh Park, a section of St. Albans, Queens with a storied tradition of Black homeownership. Despite a history of racist housing policies, including restrictive covenants that once barred Black buyers, Addisleigh Park became a haven for African American families after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such covenants in 1948. The neighborhood flourished as a center of Black prosperity and cultural achievement, home to important figures such as Jackie Robinson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Joe Louis, and James Brown.

In addition to her artistic practice, Ryland has played a vital role in preserving Addisleigh Park’s character, serving as President and now Vice President of the Addisleigh Park Civic Organization. As President, she initiated the process to have the neighborhood recognized as a Historic District by the Historic Districts Council. Her exhibition extends this commitment, offering a singular perspective on architecture, history, and the enduring spirit of community.