David Ryan

“Scholar’s Rocks are done with watercolour and Chinese ink, and mysterious techniques special to the artist. They are immensely complex images with plunging, fractured rock faces as well as swirling clouds and stunted trees bent by the wind.” TJ McNamara 8 Aug 09

David Ryan was born in Australia. He has studied at the Central School of Art, National Gallery of Victoria School of Art, and Victorian College of Art and completed an MFA at RMIT in Melbourne. In 2004, David moved to Nelson where he continues to live and work.

David's work deals with travel, place, mapping and memory involving specific places and sites in the world particularly those he has travelled to - India, the Himalayas, South East Asia, North Africa, and Australia. His journeys emerge through his art in totemic landscapes that represent conceptual and philosophical perceptions of time and space. In emulation of 19th century explorers, surveyors, amateur adventurers and artists, the mapmaking and painted topographical images begin as sheets of paper joined together with surgical tape and kept in a mapper's pad whilst travelling. His method uses notations, visual fieldwork and drawings from specific landscape and geographic sites. A multi-media artist, David creates installation works which demonstrate his fluid skill through painting, sculpture, electronic music, and digital animation. David has held solo exhibitions throughout Australia and in New Zealand, has been part of numerous group exhibitions, and has held curatorial positions.

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