Artist: Robert Ryan

Robilant+Voena presents a solo exhibition of paintings by Robert Ryan, on view in New York.

The show brings together twelve new paintings by the Irish artist, taking viewers on a journey to the quiet landscapes of his imagination. His wistful, placid scenes of mountains, islands and lakes are inhabited by a few solitary animals of an undefined species, suggesting a world beyond – or perhaps long before – the imprint of humanity. In his paintings, Ryan is deeply inspired by the landscape of his home in Lough Gur in County Limerick, Ireland – a place steeped in history and where the material and cultural remains of the past live strongly in the soul of the present. Ryan’s paintings remind us that in the great passage of time, mankind is merely passing through.

Within the serenity of these intimate paintings, there are other underlying sentiments, sometimes reinforcing the calmness, sometimes counteracting it. Many of the works explore concepts such as uncertainty, solitude, vulnerability and salvation, with Ryan allowing for multiple readings to play out in the lightly-suggested narrative of the dreamlike situations. The creatures in his visual universe exist in a place that teeters between seclusion and isolation, at times seemingly glad to inhabit the quiet land – as in Gatekeepers or Cloud Counting – but in other works they appear to yearn for connection – as is evident in Exile or Sending a SOS. The stillness of Ryan’s paintings is fragile, sometimes overcome by a sense of expectation.

In the exhibition, Ryan also debuts four delightfully small works on panel, the tiniest measuring just 4 x 3 ½ inches. These petite canvases present a microcosmic snippet of his world, painted with a jewel-like precision, a tiny window onto the limitless eternity of time. The mystery of An Encounter in the Woods is juxtaposed by the climactic stealth of The Nest Looter, conveying the artist’s considerable skill at this minute scale.

Collectively, the paintings have a timeless quality; through the beauty and vagueness of the creatures and places, Ryan reminds us of the commonality between ourselves and all other species that inhabit the Earth. The sense of empathy and connection inspired by the exhibition invites us to leave with a new perspective on our ephemeral place in the order of things.