Mark Ryden. Pinxit, Art Edition

Mark Ryden’s carnival of curiosities

Blending themes of pop culture with techniques reminiscent of the old masters, Mark Ryden has created a singular style that blurs the traditional boundaries between high and low art. His work first garnered attention in the 1990s when he ushered in a new genre of painting, “Pop Surrealism,” dragging a host of followers in his wake. He has trumped the initial surrealist strategies by choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation.

Ryden’s vocabulary ranges from cryptic to cute, treading a fine line between nostalgic cliché and disturbing archetype. Seduced by his infinitely detailed and meticulously glazed surfaces, the viewer is confronted with the juxtaposition of the childhood innocence and the mysterious recesses of the soul. A subtle disquiet inhabits his paintings; the work is achingly beautiful as it hints at darker psychic stuff beneath the surface of cultural kitsch. In Ryden’s world cherubic girls rub elbows with strange and mysterious figures. Ornately carved frames lend the paintings a baroque exuberance that adds gravity to their enigmatic themes.

Pinxit, whose title refers to the Latin term meaning “painted by,” is organized by the themes of Ryden’s major exhibitions and covers nearly two decades of Ryden’s practice. The volume includes commentaries by Yoshitomo Nara, Carlo McCormick, and others, as well as a new essay by culture critic Kristine McKenna. Quarter-bound with leather spine and a gold-relief embossed cover, the monograph reproduces Ryden’s paintings and drawings to the highest standard on archival-quality paper and features over a dozen paintings as fold-outs, opening to a staggering 150 cm (59 inches) across.

This Art Edition of 50 numbered copies (No. 1–50), each signed by the artist, comes with an eight-color silk-screen print on fine handmade paper from Bhutan, and is embossed with a beautifully hand-sculpted bee and printer’s chop.