3/5/2012
Ryan Brown
Y Gallery, New York
Various Small Lots. The drawings and photographs in this series conjure a suggestion of an object which may have been but is no longer present.
Y Gallery is pleased to present Various Small Lots by Ryan Brown, his second solo show at the
gallery. The drawings and photographs in this series conjure a suggestion of an object which may
have been but is no longer present. The large drawings adopt the format of the art auction
catalog as a metaphor for the exhausted, expired and re-contextualized original. The rectangular
images within the neutral space of the jagged picture frame serve as familiar strangers that one
recognizes but remain anonymous. Monumental in scale yet seemingly delicate in nature the
deteriorating pages appear to be either on the verge of becoming trash or historical treasure.
Brown employs a wide range of methods and mediums in order to transform the material from
new to old thus mimicking the aging effects of time.
The photographs offer a curious semi-historical glimpse into the creative process. If the drawings
imply the afterlife of the authentic original, the photographic stills seem to witness its place of
origin. Brown stages and reenacts these quintessential artist studio shots that further emphasize
a dislocation of time and provide little information as to the identity of the artist. Various Small
Lots balances the tensions of conflicts of opposites vis-a-vis representation, abstraction, present,
absent, real, imaginary, willful, accidental, not by tranversing the space between but by resting at
the point where they converge.
Ryan Brown was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1977. He studied Fine Arts at SVA (School
of Visual Arts) in New York. After graduating with honors in 2006 he was invited to participate in
the European Exchange Academy in Beelitz, Germany. Ryan Brown has participated in multiple
solo and group exhibitions including “Peekskill Project” organized by The Hudson Valley Center
for Contemporary Art; "Ex-Libris" at Adam Baumgold Gallery; "Bibliomania", at The Visual Arts
Center of NJ; “In and Outside Writing“ at Voorkamer - Belgium; “Homeness”, “Domestico” and
“Borders”, his first solo show- at Y Gallery; among others. He lives and works in New York and
will participate in "Storytellers" at The Stenersen Museum, (Oslo) in 2012.
Image: Studio view with Town and City (60 x 40 inches) and White Obelisk (60 x 40 inches). Ink, watercolor and acrylic on paper over metal, 2012.
Opening Reception: Friday May 4th, 6 - 9 pm
Y Gallery New York
165 Orchard Street, New York NY, 10002
Tuesday to Sunday 12pm to 7pm