Ryan Pierce's paintings, prints, and experimental artist books envision a world recovering from human industry amid the throes of climate chaos. He draws on influences from ecological theory, literature, and folk art to create scenes that portray the resilience of the natural world.

He has exhibited internationally and his work has been recognized by grants from the Joan Mitchell and San Francisco Foundations, and an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission, as well as by reviews in Art in America, Art Papers, and The Oregonian. Pierce has been an artist in residence at the Djerassi and Ucross Foundations, Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder in Norway, and a fellow at the Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency at Sitka Center for Art & Ecology, where he now serves on the Board of Directors. In 2019 his work was showcased in the Portland Art Museum's inaugural triennial of Northwest Art, titled the map is not the territory... He is represented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland.

Pierce was the co-founder, with activist Amy Harwood, of Signal Fire, a group that facilitated wilderness residencies and retreats for artists of all disciplines from 2009-19. He was the founding Director of Wide Open Studios, an arts and ecology field program. He currently chairs the low-residency MFA in Visual Studies at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.