1979–84
Soon after graduating from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, Ryan spent the summer of 1979 at the Ox-Bow Artist Residency in Saugatuck, MI. There, he produced drawings of landscapes shaped by sand dunes and forest while working a few hours each day washing dishes. These works continued to influence him after he moved to Chicago later that year, where he supported his practice by building scenery for the Goodman Theater. Oxbow Landscape #1 - Living in the Nuclear World reflects this moment: a recreation of the Michigan landscape imagined as a stage set. Fashioned from ¼ inch sticks, both the drawing and installation merge organic forms. The title gestures to the looming presence of the Cold War era, framing the fragility of natural environments within a world increasingly defined by global anxiety.
Installation at Rockford Art Museum
Ox-Bow Landscape #1 - M+O - Mix - Final, 1983-84 acrylic and oil pens on routed plywood 72 x 108 x 3 in (182.88 x 274.32 x 7.62 cm)
Ox-Bow Landscape #1 - Stage Set Study - Tree #1, 1980-81 acrylic on canvas 56 x 38 x 2 in (142.24 x 96.52 x 5.08 cm)
Ox-Bow Landscape L1-T1-B, 1983 acrylic on routed plywood 17.75 x 14.5 x 1.5 in (45.09 x 36.83 x 3.81 cm)
Ox-Bow Landscape #1 - L1+T2+3+4-MIX, 1982-83 acrylic on routed plywood 40 x 33.5 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 85.09 x 3.81 cm)
Ox-Bow Landscape #1 - L1 - T2 - Panel 1, 1983-84 acrylic and graphite on plywood 14.5 x 14 x 1.5 in (36.83 x 35.56 x 3.81 cm)
