The American painter Mark Ryden, is part of the lowbrow movement, also called pop surrealism. Together with his wife, the painter Marion Peck, they form one of the most important artistic couples in Los Angeles.
Mark Ryden is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after artists of the last 30 years, and now you have the opportunity to see his first major retrospective exhibition in Europe. The chosen place is the Contemporary Art Centre of Malaga, where until the 5th of March 2017 you can visit ‘La Camara de las Maravillas’ ('The Chamber of Wonders').
‘Cámara de las Maravillas '(The Chamber of Wonders)
The exhibition that receives this name is the first retrospective of his work in Europe, with a total of 55 works of popular culture with the surrealist approach that characterizes Mark Ryden. Many of them have been donated by famous American collectors such as Leonardo Di Caprio or the president of Nike, Mark Parker.
In ‘Chamber of Wonders’ also show works that have been created exclusively for the exhibition, in which it combines the decorated cloaks of Holy Week with the concept of the mortal and the flesh. This exhibition is considered by Ryden himself as the most important of his career.
You will find works of all his series like ‘The Snow Yak Show’ or ‘Blood’, somewhere the nature has a greater importance like ‘The Tree Show’ or others loaded of more iconography like ‘The Gay 90's’, where the unintentional provocation is especially emphasized.
The work of Mark Ryden, a musical and literary source
The start of his career as an artist was marked by illustration. Mark Ryden graduated in Graphic Design, created a multitude of album covers for major singers such as Michael Jackson (Dangerous), Red Hot Chili Peppers (One Hot Minute) and Aerosmith (Love in an Elevator). He was also present in the literary world in covers of novels of Stephen King like Desperation and The Regulators.
The artist began to gain relevance when Robert Williams put him on the cover of the magazine Juxtapoz, considered the official guide of lowbrow art.
In his paintings you will appreciate a symbology based on the fact that life is not a children's story. He expresses this through infantile faces with big eyes and sad look that reflect the loss of the innocence and the disappointment of the maturity. The artist creates a world between life and death, the innocent and the terrible, with a common ingredient: fantasy.
Although his source of inspiration is quite broad, he emphasizes the mystery of old toys, anatomical models, stuffed animals, skeletons and religious images, or the very Abraham Lincoln, who is recurrently portrayed by the artist.
For the most curious
If you were surprised by Lady Gaga's meat dress you don’t want to miss this exhibition, since it was one of the paintings that are exposed, 'The Meat Show', that inspired the singer for her outfit. The flesh is a common theme in his works, for Ryden is the substance by which we exist.
His main inspiration flows from everything that awakens some mystery such as old toys, anatomical models, stuffed animals ...
When to see Mark Ryden's exhibition
The Contemporary Art Centre of Malaga opens from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm uninterrupted, including public holidays except on the 25th of December and the 1st of January. Admission is free.
