Susan Inglett Gallery is pleased to present our fifth show with Ryan Wallace, Leaves Turn Inside You.
Like the evolution of language, a system of communication that advances with each passing generation, Leaves Turn Inside You presents the latest iteration of Ryan Wallace’s rigorous process-based work. Decisions made in the past compositions knock onto the next, generating both materials and inspiration. Beginning with the detritus spun from earlier works, the artist seams, inlays, and builds onto a stratified plane. Previously using light refractions from metal and water to guide the composition of his work, Wallace now disrupts the structure with chromatic and material interventions.
A testament to the trials and tribulations of the process, each work holds the memory of previous studio choreographies and mediations. Excavating and reorganizing the past into a new composition, Wallace’s work finds harmonies within its disparate fragments. Confined by the limits of the frame, the cacophony of geometric and organic shapes ping from edge to edge amplified by the contrasting materiality of stained linen and glowing metallics. Optically balanced, the maximalist composition embodies themes of entropy and regeneration, resolving in a state of equilibrium.
Ryan Wallace’s (b. 1977) mixed media paintings conjure an ethereal space between the material and the intangible. Repurposing fragments from earlier and developing pieces, the artist seams, layers, excavates, and manipulates the surface of his work to incorporate a wealth of textures and techniques. By limiting his resources, Wallace has developed a rich process-based practice whereby each body of work leads to the next in terms of materials and composition.
Wallace’s work has been exhibited at BAM, Brooklyn; Marjorie Barrick Museum, Las Vegas; and University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Recent group exhibitions include Volery Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2022); Bohemian’s Gallery, Natsume Books, Tokyo, Japan (2022); De Boer Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2021); and The Bunker Artspace, West Palm Beach, FL (2019). His works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NYC; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, among others.