Publisher's Synopsis
Fuzzy bunnies, big-eyed girls, meat, magic, and mystery: Mark Ryden's carnival of curiosities
- Collector's Edition - No. 51-1,050
- Limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies, each signed by Mark Ryden
- Printed on archival-quality paper
- Quarter-bound book with leather spine
- Front cover features gold-relief embossing crafted by the master printers at Pressure Printing
- Comes in a clamshell box covered in cloth fabric
- Also available in an Art Edition of 50 copies with a silk screen print
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. Complex in its arcane and idiosyncratic subject matter, Ryden's work can leave no viewer unmoved.
Pinxit, whose title refers to the Latin term meaning "painted by," is organized by the themes of Ryden's major exhibitions-The Meat Show, Bunnies & Bees, The Tree Show, and so on-and includes collected essays by Yoshitomo Nara, Carlo McCormick, and others, and a new essay by culture critic Kristine McKenna. Ryden's paintings and drawings are reproduced using the finest technique available, and over a dozen of the paintings are foldouts that open to a staggering 150 cm (59 inches) across.
Many books have been published on Mark Ryden before, but none like this large-format monograph, released in a boxed Collector's Edition of 1,000 numbered copies, each signed by the artist; and also available in an Art Edition of only 50 copies, which come with an artwork. This sweeping retrospective brings together nearly two decade's worth of Mark Ryden's paintings and works on paper, broadening the horizons of his uncanny universe and bringing it to the world, one big page at a time.