RYAN SCHNEIDER

Vast and elemental, the allure of the Californian high desert is undeniable. The rugged landscape can be inhospitable and alien at times and mystical and magical at others. Strewn with craggy boulders, ringed by majestic mountains, and with expansive vistas as far as the eye can see, it is seductive in its unfamiliarity, its unknowability. There will always be more to discover, to explore, to conquer. For decades, artists have been captivated by the high desert’s magnetic energy, its magnificent light, and its promise of solitude, of space to think, reflect, and regenerate. It’s here—an hour from the nearest city—that Ryan Schneider has lived and worked for the last nine years.

Schneider’s practice initially focused on figurative and still life painting, exploring deep, personal narrative in cubist compositions. Several years ago, the abundance of open space around his studio encouraged Schneider to expand his practice to include sculpture. Inspired by the primal nature of the landscape, his long-standing interest in various traditions of ancient and Indigenous art, and a foundation in Cubism and German Expressionism, he took a break from painting and picked up a chainsaw.

Working with large blocks of wood, primarily Torrey Pine, Schneider began creating upright forms that are neither object nor figure but something in between, akin to the tree spirit mythologies that enchant him. He describes his way of working as drawing or mark-making with the saw, and because the material and process were completely new to him, he had no baggage and could be completely free, improvising and exploring both the limits and potential of the three-dimensional medium. Rather than working on a canvas, he works with the wood, deeply connected to its physicality. Fresher, less labored, and more intuitive, his evocative stacked sculptures capture the primitivism of the art forms that inspired him. Borrowing from his painting practice, Schneider adds vibrant color with oil pigment sticks, animating and activating the wood sculpture.

The angular facets, deep incisions and grooves, and varying scale of Schneider’s sculpture, whether the size of a human figure or smaller and more intimate, invited other explorations, such as burning the wood or casting the pieces in bronze. Once cast, form and materiality meld seamlessly and naturally, and the sculptures become not only more monolithic but something other, something solemn, something more intense, spiritual, and mysterious.

For this, his first solo show with Almine Rech, Schneider presents a holistic ensemble of painting and sculpture. New paintings on canvas, created in tandem with his sculpture, are strongly connected to it through their abstract, energetic imagery and relative simplicity. Seeking a way of working and a form that would connect his paintings with his wood sculptures, Schneider created, and introduces here, a compelling new series of two- dimensional, wall-mounted carved and painted wood works.

Almine Rech New York is pleased to announce Nocturner, Ryan Schneider’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, on view from June 27 to August 2, 2024.

Vast and elemental, the allure of the Californian high desert is undeniable. The rugged landscape can be inhospitable and alien at times and mystical and magical at others. Strewn with craggy boulders, ringed by majestic mountains, and with expansive vistas as far as the eye can see, it is seductive in its unfamiliarity, its unknowability. There will always be more to discover, to explore, to conquer. For decades, artists have been captivated by the high desert’s magnetic energy, its magnificent light, and its promise of solitude, of space to think, reflect, and regenerate. It’s here—an hour from the nearest city—that Ryan Schneider has lived and worked for the last nine years.

Schneider’s practice initially focused on figurative and still life painting, exploring deep, personal narrative in cubist compositions. Several years ago, the abundance of open space around his studio encouraged Schneider to expand his practice to include sculpture. Inspired by the primal nature of the landscape, his long-standing interest in various traditions of ancient and Indigenous art, and a foundation in Cubism and German Expressionism, he took a break from painting and picked up a chainsaw.

Working with large blocks of wood, primarily Torrey Pine, Schneider began creating upright forms that are neither object nor figure but something in between, akin to the tree spirit mythologies that enchant him. He describes his way of working as drawing or mark-making with the saw, and because the material and process were completely new to him, he had no baggage and could be completely free, improvising and exploring both the limits and potential of the three-dimensional medium. Rather than working on a canvas, he works with the wood, deeply connected to its physicality. Fresher, less labored, and more intuitive, his evocative stacked sculptures capture the primitivism of the art forms that inspired him. Borrowing from his painting practice, Schneider adds vibrant color with oil pigment sticks, animating and activating the wood sculpture.

The angular facets, deep incisions and grooves, and varying scale of Schneider’s sculpture, whether the size of a human figure or smaller and more intimate, invited other explorations, such as burning the wood or casting the pieces in bronze. Once cast, form and materiality meld seamlessly and naturally, and the sculptures become not only more monolithic but something other, something solemn, something more intense, spiritual, and mysterious.

For this, his first solo show with Almine Rech, Schneider presents a holistic ensemble of painting and sculpture. New paintings on canvas, created in tandem with his sculpture, are strongly connected to it through their abstract, energetic imagery and relative simplicity. Seeking a way of working and a form that would connect his paintings with his wood sculptures, Schneider created, and introduces here, a compelling new series of two- dimensional, wall-mounted carved and painted wood works.

Press release courtesy Almine Rech