UPCOMING & ON VIEW
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Ryan Anstett
Practice Join us at the Project 308 Gallery for the opening reception of "Practice", an exhibition featuring artwork by Ryan Anstett on Saturday, October 10, 6-9PM. Admission is free. ABOUT THE ARTIST For me, and specifically for this show, everything builds from a single question. Who am I? This question is posed as if I were asked to define myself by the things I enjoy, the work that I do, and the passions I pursue; how would I choose to describe myself? The answer has always been to reply with “I’m an artist.” After graduating with a Digital Media Arts degree from Canisius in 2008, I felt that I had to begin to set my feet on that path, and that answer felt more certain than ever. Having spent the next 4 years doing anything but design, just prior to that moment when I began to put pen to paper, there was a window of time where I began to question my definition of, “I’m an artist”. Intrinsically speaking, in my mind an artist by definition more than just someone who self-identifies as a creator. It’s an ongoing and active pursuit of honing one’s craft, experimenting with different techniques, and translating abstract concepts to tangible media for others to consume. In short, my internal dialogue went something like: if you’re not making art, are you really an artist? Gifted with a set of markers and a pad of fine paper one Christmas in 2010, I started on what would become a decade long journey to this very show. Inspired by the op art of the 1920s, the basic concepts of design learned in school, and an endless consumption of pop art, I would spend nights and weekends refining rough talent through the collection of work on display here. THE SHOW That brings us to the title of this show, “Practice”. From that first drawing, I have since spent the past decade creating art and cultivating the few design skills I learned in school. By supplementing my minimal formal education in fine arts with internet forums, online videos, and a willingness to spend literally hundreds of hours trying things out, I’ve developed a style unique to myself that is present in each work set within this show. This show is a culmination of countless hours of practice, and a presentation from the artist I see myself to be. This show is best thought of as a single artist presenting their body of work within three micro shows. The collections of work range from fanciful combinations of food and animal, to painstakingly detailed geometric illustrations, to interactive paintings featuring oversized barcodes and hidden messages that can be discovered when scanning the code. Fundamentally, this collection has built upon the idea that everything being worked on, from each piece and collection, right down to the show Practice itself, is building towards the next big thing. Gallery hours during the month of October: Tuesdays 6-8PM or contact us at 716-523-0068 to set an appointment |