The Luminous Offering
Ryan Morris

Artist Statement:  The imagery I choose to reference in a painting is taken directly from moments in my life that spark the initial work. The way a partner's hand looks when holding a cup for example, will inspire a series of sketches, which might become a painting. And the conversation we were having when they were holding that cup might become the underlying subject of the work itself. Over the course of months, I will add more symbols from different events into the same painting, creating a work that is multilayered in meaning, subject matter, and narrative. They become stories on top of stories. My goal with these works is to transfix the viewer with seductive and repulsive imagery, and to leave them with a story that never really concludes. For the viewer, a deeper, individual meaning might be derived that only they can see. There is a quality about my work that conveys calm and stillness while simultaneously inducing dread and anxiety. This push and pull of emotions is the core focus of how I want a finished work to feel upon looking. I am fascinated with the darker aspects of the human condition and our relationships with mortality, spirituality, existential anxiety and our base nature and desires. 
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Artist Bio:  Ryan Morris, born 1990, is an artist and musician based in Lexington, Kentucky. He received his BA in Art from Morehead State University in 2015 and his MFA in Painting from Kent State University in 2019. As a graduate student he was awarded a teaching assistantship and taught drawing foundations as instructor of record. Ryan has had work published in Witchcraft Magazine and Juxtapoz. His work has been shown at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles, Slowburn gallery in Brooklyn, NYC, and The Mouthole in Nashville, TN, which holds a piece by Ryan in their permanent collection. He works from his home studio by day and as a bartender at night. He has a cat named Hammie and a son named William.