When I was working for a children's book publisher last year, I came across an artist called Rob Ryan. I kept hold of some of his drawings for a while, but left the publisher shortly afterwards, along with any pieces of work.
Last weekend, I visited a friend in London who just so happened to visit Rob Ryan's Soho shop in the previous weeks. She had a couple of postcards displayed in her living room which sort of reignited my love for his artwork and prompted me to write something about it!
Ryan specialises in papercutting and screen printing, which sounds simple,
but in fact, each piece of work can require the most detailed of cuttings with the smallest of blades.
The intricate and decorative work has a romantic and dreamlike quality to it; delicate cut outs featuring loving couples, hearts, bells and love. The words are like poetry, although Ryan himself would shy away from the label.
Beneath the romantic exteriors often lie deeper messages; about lonliness, fear, pain and death. The dark quality of the work draws me in - in particular the scenes featuring night skys and houses with unfurling roofs, teetering on the brink from a dream to a nightmare.
Ryan has a multitude of strings to his bow, including the infamous cut out dress for Vogue and has featured in Elle, Elle Decoration, The Sunday Times and Grafik Magazine (see this month's!) to name but a few.
It's probably a good thing I don't live in London otherwise I'd end up spending all my money on hand carved keys and umbrellas!
See what I'm talking about at Robtown:
xxxx
