A painting is made from an object, its subject. A second painting is then made from the first painting. The second painting uses the first painting as its subject. Although the second painting ‘reproduces’ the first in style, colour and...
Read MoreA painting is made from an object, its subject. A second painting is then made from the first painting. The second painting uses the first painting as its subject. Although the second painting ‘reproduces’ the first in style, colour and composition, it is not wholly faithful. Little care is taken to make an exact copy, it is not a repetition, rather a new event that seeks to repeat the first event; an act of painting repeated.
Ryan Durrant’s paintings, explore the effect repetition, or more importantly the impossibility of it, has on the singular, original subject: the object. How the subject changes, or is transferred through the process of repetition and what effect this has on the imagery in the resulting artwork. A change from the singular to the multiple, from the individual to the collective conscience. The original painting, simultaneously destroyed and reaffirmed by the ‘repeat’. As the vagaries of “likeness” and realities of “difference” become apparent, so too does the importance of the individual part and its relationship to the whole.
Ryan Durrant graduated from Newcastle University (BA Hons Fine Art) in 1992. In 1994 he co-founded Bow Arts Trust Studios in London, where he worked until moving to Yorkshire in 2012. He has exhibited across the UK and internationally and has numerous works in private collections.
