March 25 - April 17, 2016
String Theory
Robin Ryder
Fiber/Mixed Media
Helena Davis Gallery
Opening Reception for the Artists
Fourth Friday, March 25, 2016
7:00-10:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Closing Artist Talk
Sunday, April 17, 2016
2:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Artist Statement
Much of my work is about the process of discovery. I seldom start out with an idea about how I expect a finished piece to look. Rather, I start with the materials at hand and begin layering, combining, adding and subtracting materials. Some of the pieces that are added in may have been put together years earlier and then put aside, awaiting the opportunity to be used in a larger piece. While I am working I'm contemplating ideas that I get from a variety of venues. Some of my favorites are science shows, particularly those dealing with physics and the quest for a unified theory of everything regardless of scale. I like to think about the way that things come in and out of focus depending on how close or far the observer may be from them and whether or not other objects are interfering with the sight-line. The further I get into a piece, the more it speaks to me, guiding the process. Sometimes great clarity and apparent simplicity results, at other times the piece may veer toward ambiguity and the complex. Best of all, I enjoy the element of surprise that comes from not knowing in advance the direction that a piece may take.