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| Mark Ryden in his studio |
Mark Ryden is one incredibly dapper and talented artist. As Pop Surrealists go, his work combines the sublime with the unsettling. Here he explains his process:
"Well, I have to admit I don't really paint my paintings; a Magic Monkey
does. He comes to my studio late at night, when it's very quiet.
Mysterious things happen late at night when most people are asleep. I
help the magic monkey, but he does most of the work. My job is to get
him to show up.”
And he wears a Pope's hat. Sweet.
Here's some of Ryden's startling work, which seems peppered with innocent and winsome baby-headed girls, but look into their eyes. They seem to know something.
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| Girl in a Fur Skirt |
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| Incarnation |
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| Sophia's Mercurial Waters |
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| The Ecstasy of Cecelia |
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| The Apology |
Thankfully, Ryden isn't all sweet weird girls. He happily treads into darker and more malevolent paths.
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| Fountain | |
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| Clear Hearts, Gray Flowers |
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| Jessica's Hope |
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| Little Boy Blue |
And the occasional celebrity portrait. This painting makes Leo much cooler than he could ever, ever be. I like to think that Ryden is obsessed with alternative forms of transportation in these last three paintings.
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| Leonardo Di Caprio |
