PROFILE
{ RYA N
RYA N S U L L I VA N ’ S S O L O
show at ICA Miami features
large-scale canvases created over
the past two years, during which
time the artist has explored a
distinctive approach to abstraction. Utilizing non-compositional forms and an organic, even abject color palette that is alternatingly vivid, murky, and sublime,
the works offer critical solutions
to a world in which abstraction
has taken on a life of its own.
Sullivan’s richly-layered
paintings are the result of a process of accretion that can take up
to a month to complete. In his
studio, the canvases sit parallel
to the floor. As he progressively
tilts the canvases (a crucial intervention), layers of oil paint,
latex, enamel, and spray paint
shift and spill. A subtle interplay
between viscosity and gravity
drive the progression of each
work. Drying at varying rates,
the layered mixture wrinkles,
cracks, and coagulates. “Seeing how things change as they
dry keeps me coming in every morning,” said Sullivan. “I
wouldn’t want to learn how to
control that. It’s really impor-
S U L L I VA N }
Exhibition:
Ryan Sullivan
On view through 08. 09. 15 at the
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
www.icamiami.org
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2015