Happily Until Their Deaths

Ryan Travis Christian

Ryan Travis Christian’s idiosyncratic style of drawing densely layers intensities of graphite pencil in graphic yet amorphous stylistic flourishes. His figures, inspired by UbIwerks, George Condo and the Hairy Who, are rendered in both high contrast and slow motion and inserted into hazy sfumato-esque landscapes and skewed spaces alike that repeatedly melt and coalesce. Christian’s surreal personal narratives are fueled by the absurdity of life in his small, suburban-Chicago hometown with recurring themes of, but not limited to; fires, wheelchairs, heavy petting, fireworks, drug and alcohol usage, rivers, boats, beat up cars, death, homes, speed bumps, and cats.

Ryan Travis Christian’s (b. 1983 Oakland, CA) solo shows include the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, NC; Guerrero Gallery in San Francisco, Halsey McKay in East Hampton, NY and Cooper Cole in Toronto, and has been included in group shows in London, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Baltimore, Dallas and Los Angeles His work has been written about in frieze, art ltd, Art Papers, New American Paintings, Daily Serving, Indy Week and the Associated Press. New City named Christian as one of Chicago’s “Breakout Artists” for 2010 and named by the same publication as one of Chicago’s “Top 50 Artists’ Artists” in 2012. DAZED recently named Christian as one of the “top ten artists working with monochrome.” He lives and works in the Chicagoland area.

RYAN TRAVIS CHRISTIAN CV

David Jien

David Jien makes intricately detailed drawings about an overarching narrative set in an allegorical future history, in which a cast of protagonist ( the whoriders, led by their king, Yasha Moshia) fight and defend against the evil and conniving Lizard men, commanded by their beautiful prince Adin Shakran. In a way the characters function as self portraits. Through them, David can express his deepest hopes, concerns, regrets and desires. He is a whorider, he is a lizardman.

David Jien(b. 1981 Los Angeles, CA), graduated from Art Center College of Design in 2009, he lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Jien has participated in group shows in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami. He recently had his second solo exhibition at Richard Heller Gallery in Los Angeles, California.

DAVID JIEN CV

Adrienne Kammerer

Adrienne Kammerer is a Berlin-based artist working primarily in graphite. Kammerer’s subject matter traverses the timeless narratives of light and darkness, what is known and unknown and those murky grounds that encapsulate both. The worlds her work inhabit have no fixed point, conjuring up vague pasts and/or futures outside the modern paradigm of quantified space and time. Kammerer’s work, while undeniably gothic and rooted in a tradition of graphite image-making, relies on the meticulous culling of the vast visual archives of references and symbology made available by the internet.
ADRIENNE KAMMERER CV

Toshio Saeki

Born in 1945 in Miyazaki, Japan, Saeki gained notoriety in the 1970’s for his avant garde approach, connecting traditional Japanese art styles such as Shunga (erotica) and Yokaiga (mythology) with postmodern radical pop art culture. Over the past 40 years Saeki has developed a dedicated cult following, which continues to expand significantly. Saeki has had solo exhibitions in Japan, Paris, London, Tel Aviv, New York and San Francisco. Over a dozen publications of his collected works have been printed including Saeki Toshio Gashu, Akai-hako (Red Box), Chimushi I, and Chimushi II, Yume Manji (Dream Swastika) and Onikage. Celebrated cross culturally, Saeki has also been immortalized in the Ju-on horror films which play homage to his child spirit and has contributed album artwork for several international musicians including John Lennon and Yoko Ono. He presently lives and works in the small town of Ichihara, Chiba, Japan.

Happily Until Their Deaths runs from Oct 20-Nov 21.

» Exhibition Info

For inquiries, please contact the gallery:
info@narwhalprojects.com
647.346.5317