Susanne Vielmetter

Ryan Mosley

06 Sep - 25 Oct 2014

© Ryan Mosley
Fainting Society, 2014
Oil on linen
80.71" H x 108.27" W (205 cm H x 275 cm W)
SVLAP Solo Show, "Band of None," September 6 - October 18, 2014; Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer
RYAN MOSLEY
Band of None
6 September - 25 October 2014

Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects is pleased to announce Band of None, the gallerys first solo exhibition with UK-based painter Ryan Mosley. Mosleys lush figurative paintings sample liberally from history, literature, and fantasy; they frequently reference commedia dellarte, carnival, shamanism, and the figure of the flneur. Beyond these inspirations, the content of Mosleys work is shaped by his ruminations on his own imaginative and intuitive studio process. As he builds jewel-toned worlds within the frame of the canvas, his marks, figures, and motifs evolve into new and ever vibrant species of painting.

The exhibition Band of None assembles a group of outsiders and performers. The psychological portrait of the same title features a band of musicians or a collective of colleagues, none of whom subscribe to a definite leader or set of rules. Stories about these character-types describe them as outlaws and rebels. In Mosleys paintings, the impulse to mythologize is transformed into a dreamy aesthetic where characters oscillate between hero and anti-hero, folk legend and beautiful stranger.

While Mosleys paintings are not tied to specific locations or time periods, their inhabitants feel more at home in the street fairs and stages of the 18th and 19th century than in our contemporary world. However, their colorful garments, elaborate hats, and bouffant hairdos are punctuated with glowing neon accents that place the work decidedly in our time. And yet, the viewer cannot be sure of these figures; they repeat and dissolve into hue and pattern as though a blistering heat wave is producing a Fata Morgana.

Ryan Mosley lives and works in London and Sheffield, UK. He graduated with an MA from the Royal College of Art, London. Recent solo exhibitions include Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK; Eigen + Art, Berlin, Germany; and Grand Arts, Kansas City, MO. Selected group exhibitions include S1 Artspace, Sheffield, UK; Modern Museum, Hungary; City Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic; Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK; State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; and the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Mosleys paintings are included in the Arts Council Collection, UK, the Saatchi Collection, and the Falckenberg Collection. Ryan Mosley is represented by Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK.
 

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