American artist Mark Ryden - the creator of strange works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This American master is considered the king of pop surrealism, and critics call him the Tim Burton of painting. Drawing inspiration from book illustrations and good music, artist Mark Ryden loves Carroll's work and is flattered by comparisons between his characters and those in the Alice tales.

True Master

Mark Ryden, born in 1963 in Oregon, knew from an early age that he would paint pictures. He enters the prestigious College of Art and Design, and after graduation arranges his personal exhibition of works. In the 90s of the last century, when painters advocated a return to the forgotten origins of art, Raiden invents a technique that is distinguished by its craftsmanship and provocative content.

Now he works in Los Angeles, in his studio, which he organized together with his wife, who works in the same technique. Histhe collection includes over a hundred oil paintings and watercolor sketches.

Own style

One of the most popular artists of our time has created his own style, combining pop culture with the methods of other masters. Paintings in which the boundaries between high and low art are blurred always attract the attention of viewers, and unusual works have long gained loyal fans around the world. No wonder his gloomy paintings are successfully exhibited in galleries.

Fantasy and deceptive innocence

What Mark Ryden does can be described as a mix of bizarre creepy-cute images hinting at deep things under the guise of kitsch. The artist is incredibly proud of the fact that he breathed life into a beautiful painting. And he calls imagination his main strength and often recalls his childhood, when it was very easy to fantasize.

There are no bright lights and clear shadows in his paintings, and pastel colors emphasize the tenderness of elf-like characters. However, the hypertrophied innocence of pretty girls only lures the viewer, who is unaware of the dark side of cute characters.

Distancing from your characters

"My works are the products of my time," says Mark Ryden. Pictures in which pure characters are beyond the boundaries of good and evil are too deceptive and provocative, but that is why they become not kitsch, but a real work of modern art. It should be noted that the artist has a good command of the system of hints, whichprovoke the boundless fantasy of the spectator wise by life experience. At the same time, Raiden distances himself from his depicted characters, and this makes his paintings iconic for fans.

A monkey that creates masterpieces

Mark Ryden shocks the audience by declaring that it is not him, but the monkey who comes to him creates a frightening and alluring magical world. Allegedly, she creates in complete silence under the cover of night, and he only helps to do everything so that a new image appears. And if you think too much, then nothing will work, so the artist turns off logical thinking and releases dormant sensations.

When this happens on an unconscious level, everything works out, and every evening the author waits for a fabulous monkey, takes paints and creates with her.

Allegorical symbols

Revealing the inner world of big-eyed girls and strange animals, Mark Ryden seems to open the door to a secret life before the viewer. His paintings are full of deep symbolism, alchemical and even religious signs, and everyone who gazes at the works of an American discovers another reality, where there is room for imagination and the ability to be surprised.

Allegorical images, which are difficult for many to understand, puzzle the astonished viewer, who begins to look for meaning in the fictional characters of Raiden. And the artist himself sees his task in making the audience look at the works through the eyes of the author himself and feel the world the way the creator feels it.

Rama as an intermediary between twoworlds

The author's message is also manifested in the unusual design of the creations: for each painting that is exhibited in the world's galleries, Raiden selects frames and even makes them with his own hands. The master believes that this is not just a frame for his works, but an intermediary separating the fictional world from the real one.

Mark Ryden, whose biography is a story about the formation of a creative person, knows how to combine sophistication and kitsch. This is how he earned the fame of a successful American artist. Raiden balances, not crossing a fine line, and creates for himself, not for the audience, believing that it is very dangerous to deliberately follow the lead of the audience.