Ryan Rickard
Ryan Rickard holds a BFA in Printmaking from California College of Arts and an MFA in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design. His studio practice covers a broad spectrum of media and applications such as, painting, sculpture, installation, and furniture fabrication. He currently teaches Art at the secondary level in Bakersfield, California where he lives with his wife and three daughters. When Ryan is not working or making art, he spends copious amounts of his time riding bicycles throughout California.
Artist Statement
To say that Art is a singular concept or pure in identity is to ignore the patina that the physical world has imposed upon it throughout history. My art practice explores resurrection, time, and contrast through painting, printmaking, found objects, and fabrication. Manipulation, resurrection, and process transform the found objects into a personification, narrative, and catalyst for dialogue. Repetition of objects and motifs allow me to play with time, resurrect or relive experiences, expand on meaning, and rearrange or renegotiate the past, present, and future. Found objects such as propane tanks, car parts, and household appliances have been violated by force and manipulated by time. In some cases, the found objects are left in their original state, while others are sandblasted, powder coated, and given an automotive finish that is akin to painting a crashed car without repairing the damage incurred. In addition to found objects, other media such as paintings, books, and pedestals can be installed, and configured in various arrangements to suit given contexts or environments. Most of the work is abstract or non-objective in terms of content. However, the underlying conceptual threads and process scaffold the content or narratives that are embedded in the work. From a formal perspective, this work questions how paintings, found objects, and sculpture function with relation to one another and in a given context.
Gallery
