LIKE AN EPIPHANY
Kristi Ryba
Kristi Ryba’s show, titled “Like an Epiphany,” is a timely examination of current political figures depicted in the style of paintings and images of centuries ago. Ryba's show will be on display from March 30 - May 24, 2024. A reception for the artist will be held April 6, from 5-7 pm.
Using gouache or egg tempera on vellum with gold leaf, at first glance the viewer might mistake the personages for Renaissance European royalty, religious figures, or grand images common to Medieval artwork, iconography and altarpieces. Even the frames, from a distance, look like the ornate creations of a Medieval master.
However, upon closer examination, the imperial and grand images are none other than former president Trump, his family, members of his administration, and other members of government and political leadership dressed in the costumes of Renaissance life and placed in environments reminiscent of centuries-old illustrated manuscripts.
"After my dismay and depression over the November 2016 election, I began to substitute photographs of Trump, his administration, family, associates, tweets and quotes into existing manuscripts and altarpieces that depict, illuminate or illustrate what I believe is the shallow and corrupt nature of his government,” Ryba explains.
“It has been illuminating to me how so many of these imperial and grand images from Medieval and Renaissance European royalty relate to our present situation. Some things never change."
This series of paintings on exhibit serves “as a vehicle to simplify an urgent message by providing the symbolic and instructional imagery to illustrate and illuminate the leadership crisis we are in,” Ryba states.
“All the gold, elaborate surroundings and messages of morality and ethics corresponded with what is happening in our government; the gutting of our social safety net and health care, eliminating environmental protections, the lack of restraint in spending money on personal enrichment and pleasure and the build-up of military spending and deficit in international diplomacy to name a few.”
From Charleston, S.C., Ryba has trained as a printmaker and painter. She graduated from the College of Charleston and obtained her MFA from Vermont College. She has participated in residencies at Vermont Studio School in Johnson, Vt., Studio Camnitzer in Valdotavvo, Lucca, Italy and The McColl Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Ryba’s work has been exhibited at ArtFields, 701 Contemporary Center for Art and Columbia College in Columbia, S.C.; Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, Ohio; Waterworks Visual Arts Center in Salisbury, N.C.; The City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston, S.C.; Sumter Gallery of Art in Sumer, S.C.; and Dialect Design in Charlotte, N.C.
More information on Ryba’s work is available on her website, kristiryba.com.
​
RECEPTION: APRIL 6, 5-7 PM
SHOW DATES: MARCH 30 - MAY 24, 2024
CONCERNING BEING
Lynne Riding
“Concerning Being” is the title of our 32-piece show featuring Charleston, S.C. artist Lynne Riding, opening March 30, 2024. An opening reception for the artist will be held April 6, 5-7pm.
Abstract in nature, the major elements in Riding’s pieces speak to “issues of impermanence, shifting perspectives, and loss, aligned with the dichotomy of enduring hope, that which drives us on.”
“My interests lie in the subtle undercurrents, the not so blatant, crude or obvious, a case of paying attention to what happens between the obvious,” she says. She adds that her work stems from the place and surroundings in which she finds herself, "from colors observed there, a line seen in space, or the found object, all of which find their way into my paintings and act as metaphors.”
Works on display are varied in scale with her largest being 6 feet by 5 feet, and smallest measuring 11 inches by 9 inches. Medium will vary as well and will include natural pigment and silver leaf on paper or linen, wax encaustic, oil on canvas, and gouache on paper.
Visitors to Upstairs Gallery will see influences of her Welsh roots in her series titled “Hireath” meaning “longing.” Originally from Mid Wales in the UK, Riding says her work “generally stems from a sense of place and this work endeavors to draw on my roots and a feel for the landscape in which I spent my formative years.”
Riding holds an art Foundation from Hereford School of Art and Design (UK), a bachelor’s degree in fashion/textiles from Manchester College of Art and Design (UK), and a master’s degree in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute.
Before moving to Charleston, Riding worked as an illustrator for magazines, newspapers and advertising agencies in London. She has served on the faculty of Art Foundations at Falmouth School of Art (UK), the College of Charleston, and the Art Institute of Charleston.
Highlights of her exhibitions include “Abstract Art in S.C., 1949-2012” at the State Museum in Columbia, S.C.; “30th Parallel - A Convergence of Contemporary Painting” at Jacksonville (Fla.) Museum of Modern Art; “CMYK” at TransAmerica Pyramid in San Francisco; and “80x80” at Charlotte’s Mint Museum. She has also exhibited in New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Riding has been part of the Charleston art scene for about 25 years, where she lives and has her studio.
Her show will be on display through May 24, 2024. More information about her can be found here: https://www.lynneriding-art.com/.
​
RECEPTION: APRIL 6, 5-7 PM
SHOW DATES: MARCH 30 - MAY 24, 2024
SCENES FROM ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Mary Walker
Charleston, S.C. painter and printmaker Mary Walker will be returning to her former home of Tryon, N.C. to exhibit “Scenes from Alice in Wonderland” at Upstairs Artspace. Her show runs March 30 - May 24, 2024, with a reception for the artist on April 6, from 5-7 pm.
Walker’s black and white prints in this show and in her book depict the many characters and settings from Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s novel “Adventures of Alice in Wonderland.”
Her interest in the characters was born from a “magical childhood moment” of discovery and wonder. At age 5, she was living in servants quarters of an old house, and one day her mother led her through the door that connected to the main house. In a magnificent dining room with a gleaming mahogany table, she saw Alice in Wonderland. Or rather, a neighborhood girl dressed up as Alice for Halloween.
“She was a vision that stepped out of my story book,” Walker says, “and it has tumbled around in my mind for years looking for a creative outlet through my work as an artist.”
Visitors to the show are invited down the rabbit hole, to drink the potion, to shrink in size and grow too big, and to join the tea party. Meet the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the March Hare and many more familiar characters.
Born in New York and raised in Tryon, Walker began her work life in 1975 teaching high school math in New York. While there, she studied at the Art Students' League with Isaac Soyer, and decided to devote her life to her art. After moving to the Charleston area, she studied painting and printmaking at the College of Charleston.
Since 1981, she has lived on John’s Island in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, and has exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally. Walker has worked in various American and international print studios including the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop (New York, N.Y.), Scuola Internazionale di Grafica (Venice, Italy), Santa Reparta (Florence, Italy), the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, Mass.), Provincetown Art Association and Museum (Provincetown, Mass.), Limerick Printmakers (Limerick, Ireland), Studio Due (John’s Island, S.C.), Print Studio South (Charleston, S.C.), Spirit Square (Charlotte, N.C.), Castle Hill (Truro, Mass.), and New Grounds Print Studio (Albuquerque, N.M.)
More information about her work is available on her website, marywalkerart.com.
​
RECEPTION: APRIL 6, 5-7 PM
SHOW DATES: MARCH 30 - MAY 24, 2024