On view November 30 – December 20 , 2015
Art reception on December 11th FRIDAY 6 – 8:30 pm
EBK Gallery [small works].
218 Pearl St.
Hartford, CT
My mixed media collages, drawings, and prints are sardonic representations of American popular culture. These artworks satirize advertising (commercial and personal) through various media outlets. I use standard portrait format to construct ominous reflections of that collective culture.
The characters are developed from a mix of music lyrics, movie references, news banter, and print ad campaigns, and are titled with hot-button phrases or popularized keyword terms. Each figure is portrayed in an amplified fashion and all are competitively seeking the attention of an audience. The volume is turned up to the highest contrast. Forms are flattened, bringing everything to surface and disregarding conventional spatial relationships. Noise is created with loud colors and fluctuating patterns. Shimmering surfaces animate the subjects’ features and aggressive positioning heightens complicated bonds between characters.
Repurposing inexpensive, readily available materials is paramount in my practice. Many of the media I employ resonate with a broad audience and are mass-produced paralleling the availability of my references. The objects that I collect and incorporate include acrylic paint, enamel, ephemera, ink, foil, glitter, buttons, marker, paper, rhinestones, spray paint, tape, office supplies, wallpaper, and plastic jewelry. While not individually alluring, together they form captivating images of dark, shiny pop. -R.R.
click on an image to enlarge or forward through
![EBK | Rysz [Bo-Toxer]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_bo-toxer.p.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Bo-Toxer]")
![EBK | Rysz [Dataminer]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_dataminer.fv_.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Dataminer]")
![EBK | Rysz [Gentleman of Distinction]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_gentlemanofdistinction.p.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Gentleman of Distinction]")
![EBK | Rysz [Intergraded metrics]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_intergradedmetricsfv.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Intergraded metrics]")
![EBK | Rysz [Meaningful Relationship]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_meaningfulrelationship.p.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Meaningful Relationship]")
![EBK | Rysz [over sharer]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_oversharer.fv_.jpg "EBK | Rysz [over sharer]")
![EBK | Rysz [Revenuer]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_revenuer.p.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Revenuer]")
![EBK | Rysz [Saturation Dive]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_saturationdive.fv_.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Saturation Dive]")
![EBK | Rysz [Socialites]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_socialites.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Socialites]")
![EBK | Rysz [Toxic Assets]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_toxicassets.fv_.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Toxic Assets]")
![EBK | Rysz [Content Manager]](https://ebkgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/rysz_contentmanager.p.jpg "EBK | Rysz [Content Manager]")
Gallery Sheet and Pricing PDF
Ronnie Rysz
Ronnie received his BFA from Lyme Academy College of Fine Art and studied Fine Art and Illustration at the School of Visual Arts. He served as an assistant to both Master Printer James Reed of Milestone Graphics and to Mural Painter Randy Davis of Off the Wall Murals. He has taught relief printing, intaglio, and lithography at Western Connecticut State University and relief printing at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking—where he was also an Exhibition and Workshop Coordinator. He spent six years working as a Prosthetic Artist for Alternative Prosthetic Services—traveled across the continental U.S. and created custom silicone prosthetics for civilians, veterans, and active soldiers. He now works for the Yale Center for British Art as a Senior Associate of Communications and Marketing.
Ronnie’s artwork is included in collection of the Slater Memorial Museum, the Housatonic Museum of Art, the Print Club of Albany, and several other public and private collections. His work has been exhibited nationally, including shows at Real Art Ways, Silvermine Arts Center, 808 Gallery at Boston University, Artspace NH, Seton Gallery at the University of New Haven, and the Akus Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University. He was the recipient of a Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism Fellowship, Change, Inc. Grant, and Vermont Studio Center Fellowship. Currently, he lives and works in New Haven, CT.
CV / Resume
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2015 EBK Gallery, Hartford, CT
2015 Default Notice, DaSilva Gallery, New Haven, CT
2013 Opting Out, Kohn-Joseloff Gallery, Cheshire Academy, Chesire, CT
2012 Closed Circle, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
2010 Losing All Touch, 22 Haviland Street Gallery, South Norwalk, CT
2008 Climate of Uncertainty, Fairfield Arts Council, Fairfield, CT
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015
In Conversation – Seton Gallery, UNH, West Haven, CT
10th Annual Alumni Exhibition – Chauncey Stillman Gallery, LACFA, Old Lyme, CT
Worlds Without End, Brian Morris Gallery + Buddy Warren, Inc., New York, NY & Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Art for Sale, Real Art Ways + EBK Gallery, Hartford, CT
New Members Exhibition, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2014
3rd Annual CT Printmakers Invitational, Akus Gallery, ECSU, Willimantic, CT
Art of the Northeast, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
In Relief, Gallery of the Institute Library, New Haven, CT
2013
8th Annual Alumni Exhibition, Chauncey Stillman Gallery, LACFA, Old Lyme, CT
The Gazers, Seton Art Gallery, UNH, West Haven, CT
Crossing the Line, Gallery of the Institute Library, New Haven, CT
2012
Artist’s Choice, Kehler Liddell Gallery, New Haven, CT
2011
War Making, A-Space Gallery, West Haven, CT
Bridgeport Prints, BACC Gallery, Bridgeport, CT
Second Glance, CCCT Gallery, Hartford, CT
2010
Linear Structure, Fairfield Arts Council, Fairfield, CT
Comix, 305 Knowlton Street Gallery, Bridgeport, CT
Flock, Artspace, New Haven, CT
Echo, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
2009
International Miniature Print, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
Crossing the Bridge, Hygienic Gallery, New London, CT
2008
Conncentric, Artspace, New Haven, CT
Tête á Tête, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
Impressed, Chauncey Stillman Gallery, LACFA, Old Lyme, CT
Not Printed on Paper, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT & Spencertown Academy Arts Center, Spencertown, NY
A Printer’s Eye, Fairfield Arts Council, Fairfield, CT
2007
CWOS – Politics as Usual, Installation, Hamden Middle School, Artspace, Hamden, CT
Works on Paper, Foundry Arts Center, St. Charles, MO
Bi-annual Exhibition, Reads Artspace, Bridgeport, CT
2006
National Print Exhibition, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Dirty Fingernails, Foundry Arts Center, St. Charles, MO
Art of the Northeast, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
Regional BFA Exhibition, 808 Gallery, Boston University, Boston, MA
Education
BFA- Painting, Lyme Academy College of Fine Art, Old Lyme, CT, 2002-2006
Fine Arts/Illustration, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, 2000-2002
Memberships
Guild Member, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Since 2014
Grants/Fellowships
Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Hartford, CT, 2010
Grant, Change Inc., Captiva, FL, 2008
Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT : October, 2006
Collections
Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT
Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT
Lyme Academy College of Fine Art, Old Lyme, CT
Print Club of Albany, Albany, NY
Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT
Selected Press & Media
2012.03.08 – The Arts Paper, Attention to Detail, by: Hank Hoffman, Published by: the Arts Council of Greater New Haven
2011 Feb./Mar. – New American Paintings, #92 Northeast Edition, Published by: The Open Studios Press
2011.01.01 – Mend Motion Pictures, Complete in Itself, Documentary (Trailer), Producer: Denise Santisteban, Creative Director: Tiffany Hopkins
2010 Fall/Winter – Post Road Magazine, Cover image, Issue # 21, Published by: Post Road Inc.
2010.08.15 – New Haven Register, Artspace’s Open Studios exhibit portends good things for fall, by: Judy Birke
2010.08.02 – Connecticut Post, Greenwich Times and Stamford Advocate, New Haven artist Ronnie Rysz’s exhibit spotlights society’s physical disconnect, by: Scott Gargan
2010.08.02 – The Norwalk Hour, Rysz communicates through art, by: Keith Loria