Jay Ryan Diana Sudyka Unnatural Selection

Dec 1 2007 - Jan 5 2008
Posters, Prints, Paintings, Drawings, Etchings, & Cider

        

Renowned Chicago based screen-print artist Jay Ryan and wife Diana Sudyka are to bring un-natural selection a collection of original paintings, drawings, prints, etchings and posters to Manchester’s Richard Goodall Gallery: Underground throughout December 2007.

Ryan began hand drawing and screen-printing in 1995, working for Screwball Press. He then went on to launch his own silkscreen printshop – The Bird Machine, in Chicago in 1998. His wife Diana Sudyka, is also a successful artist. She began her career as a print maker for Big Cat Press before studying for a Masters of Fine Art at from Northwest University. She currently works as an illustrator, creating book covers, album artworks and rock posters for artists such as The Decembrists, Pearl Jam and Feist. She also works as a volunteer for the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, where she documents her work through watercolours on her blog - The Tiny Aviary. Sudyka’s work is often influenced by traditional mythology and folktales; she is particularly noted for her etchings, prints and watercolours.

Ryan’s work encompasses elements of traditional childrens illustration (particularly animals) combined with ragged and intense hand-drawn lettering and the use of both muted and vibrant palettes. As Julia Steinberger explains, The homegrown artists signature style stands well apart from traditional in-your-face music propaganda: Careful blends of muted colors and pudgy, empty-eyed animals give the posters a touching, human tone, like picture books for grown-ups.

He has created stunning posters for well-known names such as The Flaming Lips, Stereolab and Sonic Youth, not to mention the dozens of underground US Indie bands who have commissioned Ryan to design their promotional posters. He has also produced designs for big commercial companies such as Converse Shoes and German cider brewer Most of Apples. Punk Planet Books published the first collection of Ryan’s greatest work entitled 100 Posters, 134 Squirrels (2006), which tracks the last ten years of his artistic career. A leading Chicago magazine describes his talent -"distinctive illustrations and handwriting grace his work and give his posters that edge - the kind that makes you want to tear down the poster even though the show advertised isnt over yet - just so you can have a piece of his work.

"One of the most important lessons I learned in school, from a teacher, was to lower my expectations of my work and be receptive to silliness, chance, and the development of a drawing in the process. Also, I think animals are funny." This ethos is evident in Jay’s work, which true cult artists’ tradition is produced only in runs of limited edition and never re-printed. With original designs starting from as little as £35, his work has become highly collectable both at home in the US and increasingly throughout Europe. Richard Goodall welcomes jay Ryan back to the gallery, following a successful exclusive UK debut showing back in 2004. “We are delighted to be housing Ryan’s work again, alongside collaborations with Diana Sudyka. We anticipate a great deal of interest; Ryan’s very individual and idiosyncratic style means he appeals not only to music fans, but also to anyone with an appreciation for creative graphic design.



See the Jay Ryan work current available work here (there will be much more at the show)

See the Diana Sudyka work current available work here (there will be much more at the show)