Artist: RYAN ESTEP

Ryan Estep, born in 1980 in Midland, Missouri, examines the phenomena of touch in his body of work, and the relationship between labor and value, a compendium of resources that produces “tactile vertigo” as the artist calls it. Before pursued painting, Estep worked as a construction worker, until one day he ventured into art. He received BFA from Michigan State University in 2006, and MFA in art from Ohio State University in 2010. His work usually begins with the creation of a monochromatic surface in the tradition of Post-Minimalism and journeys through a process of gestural mark-making. Estep’s works also have an element of chance and intriguing materiality, using unconventional materials such as lipstick, drywall mud, dirt and even lidocaine. Experimenting with unusual materials, Estep acts upon his paintings as an engagement in a tactile experience, often giving new credence to the idea of the “hand of the artist”. Working in series, each following a set of rules, which determine his gestures used but never their results, Ester could be described as a creator of so many intentional accidents. He has exhibited his work in a solo show at Thierry Goldberg, New York, and in group shows at Makebish Gallery, New York, and FiFi Projects, Mexico City, among others. Ryan Estep currently lives and works in New York. ~ widewalls.ch