Kathleen Ryan
Bad Cherries, (Fresh Pearls), 2020
Long Lake Estates
Kathleen Ryan is a New York based sculptor born in 1984.
Ryan harvests inspiration for her oversized sculptures from natural sources: cherry orchards, vineyards, and mineral mines below the earth’s crust. She’s known for fruit pieces that appear to be covered in mold, whether in the form of a deflated bunch of grapes or a pair of cherries spotted with fungi. Ryan portrays the moldy substances through precious and semi-precious gemstones like amethyst, quartz, and marble. The materials’ durability and longevity directly contrast the decay they represent. In a twist, to create the areas of rot, Ryan utilizes valuable natural gemstones such as agate, lapis lazuli, and pearls, and the more common manufactured glass and plastic beads on the fresh parts. The multilayered works reference themes of waste, consumption, power, and sexuality. “I’m interested in using the psychological weight of the actual material,” says Ryan.
“Bad Cherries (BFF)” (2020), agate, amazonite, aquamarine, aventurine, amethyst, angelite, brecciaded jasper, garnet, jasper, labradorite, magnesite, moonstone, quartz, red aventurine, rhyolite, serpentine, snow quartz, smoky quartz, spotted quartz, unakite, tiger eye, freshwater pearls, glass, steel pins on coated polystyrene, fishing poles, 26 × 12 × 39 inches.
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