Ink Well

“The paintings were created through a process of observation. This observation happens over the course of many days weeks and months. My obsession or compulsion with an attempt to record a specific place…. the accumulated effect of my daily record. I paint a square each day as I attempt to convey a sense of place and the passage of time.”—Ryan

Oil and photo transfer on panel, 2011

This series of paintings, made along the Lexington Reservoir [in California], explore the intersection between past and present, by integrating historical photographs into a daily record of a site specific location. When the Leniham Dam was built in the 1950‘s, the two towns Alma and Lexington, were relocated; the remains submerged beneath the water. As the water level fluctuates, silt covered foundations, fragmented bridges, and the occasional personal items re-emerge. A similar re-emergence occurs with the images found beneath the surface of the paintings, providing a glimpse into the veiled presence of the past.