Ryan Pierce

Description

We are pleased to announce the opening of “Army of No One,” drawings, paintings and mixed media by Ryan Pierce.

This project—the continuation of an ongoing concern with the relationship of humankind to the network of natural systems that supports us—combines the artist’s interest in environmental activism with a deep-seated distrust for the military and the appropriation of military culture in radical political movements.

A pair of interactive, drawing-based projects invites gallery visitors first to de-enlist from the US military empire, and to then join an anonymous coalition of “Terra-ists.” A woodblock print on fabric reading, “I Will Never Serve” is available free to those who take an oath of refusal from the US military. A mock tattoo shop replaces traditional ‘flash’ with drawings from the artist’s personal lexicon: a selection of eco-centric, antinationalist, and future-primitive symbols. Participants are invited to take an original drawing with the understanding that they will get it tattooed on their body. Tattoos, long a symbol of military status, are used here to signify ‘enlistment’ in an army against armies, and subscription to a value system that rejects the American military-industrial empire.

Pierce received his BFA from the Oregon College of Art & Craft and his MFA from the California College of the Arts. His work has been exhibited nationally and is currently included in “XXL,” an international survey of large-scale painting at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts (Peekskill, NY). In 2007 he received a Cadogan award from the San Francisco Foundation, an MFA Grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation and will be included in a group exhibition at the CUE Foundation (New York, NY) in June of this year.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday 12:00-6:00 pm and by appointment
For additional information or images contact:
Lisa Dent 415-875-9055
[email protected]
http://www.lisadent.com

More Info

Link

http://www.lisadent.com/