Ryan McClelland at Forster Gallery

Written by Jackie Chan Thursday, 10 May 2012 00:08

 

LONDON - Contemporary excesses are laid bare in Ryan McClelland’s sick visual taxidermy of modern life. McClelland presents everyday scenes of low-culture in his cool, stark images of the Zeitgeist. On exhibit at Forster Gallery 25 April – 24 May 2008. Private View 24 April, 6-8.30pm.
 

When confronted by Ryan McClelland’s narrative prints, what initially strikes the viewer is the pure physicality of the artwork. They occupy a scale more akin to painting than precious printmaking, although use traditional, linoblock techniques. A myriad of stylistic and ideological contradictions present themselves, intending to deride the notion of the fine arts being the exclusive purveyor of good taste. Ryan’s work exudes a punky nihilism and he employs a consciously “primitive” approach to his practise.
 
Modern consumer references, appearing in powerful scenes of degradation, show branded characters frolicking and fighting in retail parks and night clubs, desperately trying to transgress the nightmare of their existence. McClelland opts for what he describes as a “Zombified” means of production, subverting the language of decorative arts into his own ridiculous, Frankenstein creations. He uses equal amounts of irony and sincerity to paint his own romantically bleak pictures of society.
 
The living dead return to a shopping mall, the sun sets upon its tarmac, as wide-eyed kidults come out to play. Frolicking in the shadows of neon lights, they act out their own ersatz rock ‘n’ roll fantasies, where reality and fiction collide in chemically fuelled narratives of faux decadence.
 
McClelland’s ceramic sculptures and installations are monuments to the vulgarity of the western consumer society. The flotsam and jetsam of our urban experiences are piled high in complex sculptures, objects of decadence and ephemera are incongruously juxtaposed, creating tensions between these trash and treasures.
 
His unique brand of bastardized craft stands apart from the current state of sculpture. McClelland’s work is slick craftwork injected with ironic wit. You are seduced by its luster and glaze, but soon recognise the detritus used to create these totemic trophies to low-brow culture.
 
Ryan McClelland graduated from Goldsmiths College in 2002 and gained an MA in Fine Art Printmaking from the Royal College of Art in 2007. He has exhibited internationally since 2002. Recent exhibiions include The New Radicals, Galleri Sigma, Sweden (2002), Co[]ect, The Victoria & Albert Museum (2005), New News From Nowhere, William Morris Museum (2006), Pinocchio Related, Academia de Venica Venice (2006) and Urban Monsters, Boston USA (2007).
 
For further details please contact David Harris (david-at-forstergallery.com  / +44 (0)20 7739 7572) or see our website at www.forstergallery.com .

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