The familiar details of everyday life, such as the darkened gum marks all over the sidewalk framed by the gridlines of cement, or the furniture tacks and patterns from the stuffed chair in my studio, have a resonance within me that I attempt to convey to others through my artwork. Charging these ordinary situations with personal meaning stimulates my imagination and sense of relationships as well as inspires my art with possible forms. (Ryan Richey)

Uncle Robin: A turquoise pullover, stuffed with wadding, mounted on a stool. The cotton is protruding from the collar. The swelling waist, the hanging sleeves/shoulders, and the color of the pullover: Although Ryan Richey's installation consists almost only of a sweater, we can clearly see Uncle Robin and imagine his habits. The sweater reveals much more as detailed description of his character.

In further installations Ryan Richey combines pieces of clothing with drawing. Jeanses are fixed on the wall, they are simulating the short move of a leap. The colourful sweaters above are taking over the action. The drawings showing faces of elderly persons are mounted on these powerful torsions of 'bodies' consisting of empty clothes: A bizarre ballet called 'Love'. Ryan Richey often uses objects, which formerly were in close, almost intimate contact with the body, like the young german artist Magda Korsinsky does too. She collects the clothes of her friends and assembles them to room filling installations. Thus she describes the personality and the characters traits of her protagonists. Their aura is still tangible through their clothes, which once were their 'second skin'. But Ryan Richey extends this radius. Furniture, especially chairs, are also intimate companions of our every day life.

The back of a stuffed chair turns into a mustard-colored sculpture on the wall. Its construction details, the color, the texture of the surface, the form: All of this, overlooked every day, is now dignified. We appreciate the beauty of pure appearance.

Ryan Richey works with various media: Drawing, installation with mixed media and painting. In his paintings, he refers also to every day life objects, but he transforms them into patterns. The details are repeated over and over and are forming an ornamental whole.

Ryan Richey takes every day objects out of their familiar context, reduces them to the maximum of expression and turns them into meaningful details: They are all pars pro toto, stimulating our imagination.

RYAN RICHEY, born in Knightstown, IN, lives and works in Chicago. He is currently putting the final touches on his MFA degree at the SAIC.

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