“Michael Ryan creates approximately life-size drawings, primarily in pencil, that are inspired by discarded, flea-market found photographs.  Ryan’s muse is anonymity whose subjects become highlighted, but not known, as he culls through time-distant subject matter.  In response to these disrupted and misplaced moments, the artist renders different tableaux in black and white, suggesting a search for these lost identities, while affirming one’s own.”

- Buzz Spector

Regarding this body of work on view within Out of Context, Ryan shares: “I try and maintain the same approach to everything I do. All the works start in pieces, loose images of an original source image or images. They work kind of like a collage. I try and find details, or make them up. Blowing up old photos and drawing from them creates different challenges for me. You can’t always make out what you’re seeing, and I don’t necessarily want to stay stuck with the restrictions of working from an image. I want these works to become something new. Not just a reproduction. I choose to think the viewer will get caught up in my process, see the choices I make. Showing a connection to the materials I use is important to me. I find the remove I have from my source images helpful. It allows me more freedom to be creative.”