Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Sims Reed Gallery: Work in progress


With Rob's show There Is Only Time at Sims Reed Gallery fast approaching, it is full steam ahead here at Ryantown HQ. We have all been paper cutting Rob's new drawings for the exhibition. Here is an exclusive look at some of the new work in progress.



Once the drawing has been cut Rob will choose what colour he would like the piece sprayed, we carefully pin down the papercut to foam board and spray it in sections to make sure we get an even coverage across the whole image. When the papercut is dry we can very lightly stick it down to mount board using a very tiny amount of PVA. We want the piece to still have movement rather than lie flat, so parts of it can be slightly raised to create delicate shadows within the work. It can now be sent off to our framer to be framed ready for the show.


From this new work we are also producing some limited editions screenprints, which will be available to buy at the show. Jackie and Tom have been busy sampling and experimenting with new colours for some of the prints, as you can see from the images below. 

Rob made a special flyer for the show which Jackie screenprinted on to some muslin. You can collect one from Ryantown on Columbia Road and we are including one with all etsy purchases too.

The exhibition, in association with TAG Fine Arts, runs from October 23rd - November 8th 2013, and coincides with the official launch of Rob's new book 'The Invisible Kingdom'. Sims Reed Gallery will host a book signing with Rob on Saturday 26th October, from 1-2pm.

Louise Renforth
Studio Assistant

Friday, September 13, 2013

On Paper: Grand Central at 100


Earlier this year Rob was invited to participate in an exhibition featuring the work of four contemporary papercut artists as part of Grand Central Station’s Centennial celebrations in New York City. The exhibition was commissioned and curated by MTA Arts for Transit and Urban Design, and will be on view from September 27th 2013 through to September 2014. 

 
The central terminal marks its 100th birthday with a year-long celebration of events and exhibitions. Rob has produced four large papercuts, which will be installed side by side in light boxes located on the dining concourse on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal. 




It was all hands on deck here in the studio to cut the pieces Rob had drawn for the exhibition. The papercuts, when placed alongside each other, read ‘There Is Only Time!’ 

When working on Rob's papercuts we start by cutting out the smallest part first, this allows for the papercut to stay fairly sturdy for as long as possible. In this case, we cut out all of the tiny hearts from the border.


Once the borders had been cut we begun working on the larger areas and the big letters. We used a special tool called a Japanese drill punch to make the holes in all of the clouds. 



When the pieces had been cut they were ready to be sprayed, because of their lightbox setting we coloured them black. We did this outside in our yard by carefully fixing each papercut to a piece of mount board with pins so it didn't blow away.


Rob said of the work,In making this piece of work I wanted to connect quite directly with the people that use the station. I wanted to speak clearly and directly to these busy, tired and hard working people that are always on the move, that are constantly rushing through this building, catching trains, trying to make it on time. I wanted people to be able to stop and look at something that might help them take a deep breath and exhale and relax and somehow feel everything was going to be ok. The poet Philip Larkin said it a thousand times better than I could when he asked the question ‘Where can we live but days?’.  If somebody can sit down and take the weight off their feet, look at my four pictures and it gives them some kind of solace, if only for a few moments then that would be good.’


I will write another post next week with images of the final pieces and a behind the scenes look at the installation of the work at the station. For more information regarding the exhibition and the work on display you can visit the Arts for Transit twitter page here, or their facebook page to find out more!

Louise Renforth
Studio Assistant

Friday, September 06, 2013

Kind people, please pray for me. Part 2

Our next plate edition is now complete. It was printed in three colours, blue, black and red for the butterfly. The drawing was adapted from one of Rob's recent etchings and on the front reads, 'Kind people, please pray for me.' 


With all of our plate editions Rob has drawn a special message for the back, ' August 2013. Robert Ryan. This plate was printed and fired at the Mangle Studio, temple street, London E2 by Miss Jacqueline Ford and was produced in an edition of # of which this plate is number #. I was inspired by the idea of being creative and doing something different everyday of my life.' It is a small edition of only 15 and is available on our etsy shop and at Ryantown this weekend too. 

Louise Renforth
Studio Assistant