Composite No. 7 (Drainpipe)

Michael Ryan

2024

Medium: Gesso, graphite, pastel, oil stick, paper, and sandpaper on wood panel

Dimensions: 48 x 24 x 1 3⁄4 inches

Price: Upon request

Description: This work is part of an ongoing series of mixed media drawings that explore the echoes of convenience and consumption as a remaining residue within domestic spaces—specifically, those I have personally inhabited. I refer to these works as real-time composites: layered visual records that fuse my immediate environment with the byproducts of contemporary life. In this piece, the shaped panel frames the only organic and "natural" element in view—a garden—through the lens of reclaimed blister packaging. The composition is bordered by a drainpipe and concrete runoff tray, which function both literally and metaphorically as conduits and constraints. The panel's irregular form is derived from the contours of the collected materials, creating a boundary between containment and overflow. The structure and visual logic of this work are informed by two distinct artistic and cultural references. The verticality and gravitational pull of the space are inspired by the waterfall scrolls of Japanese painter Nakabayashi Chikûto. Concurrently, I see the dense accumulation of materials begin to resemble a kind of glyphic language. Which prompted a return to images/structures etched into my mind long ago: the carved Mayan stelae—monuments that combine image, language, and mass in deeply tactile ways. I often think of manufactured detritus as a hidden language. Each object—though designed for a fleeting purpose—holds an individual form and latent meaning. But only in combination do they begin to speak: not in words, but in visual statements that reveal the contradictions and patterns of our material lives.