Drawn to the woodcuts prints of late 19th century Edvard Munch (the artist best known for ‘The Scream’), Japanese artist Shiko Munakata and the work of William Blake, John Ryrie has established himself as an adept storyteller through the medium of printmaking.

In ‘Support’, he presents an impossible configuration of figures – two bodies fold into another, coiling together into a mass of limbs and bits. The work recalls the Ancient Roman concept of the ‘grotesque’ – referring to unnatural fusions of creatures – that resurfaced in the Renaissance. Playful, bizarre and formally complex, the grotesque has been explored by artists including Hieronymus Bosch and Francisco de Goya. Here, it recalls the intense feeling of souls combining in the throes of love.

Ryrie is an esteemed printmaker. He was awarded the Grand Prize in the Silk Cut Award for Linocut Prints and a finalist in the Geelong acquisitive print awards, and is represented at the National Gallery of Australia. For collectors of contemporary prints and visual storytelling, ‘Support’ is a powerful work.

John RYRIE (1961 - )
'Support' 1999
linocut on paper
Edition of 25
Image Size: 25 x 23 cm
Dimensions: 50 x 35 cm
Signed: Signed 'John Ryrie', editioned, titled, dated under image
Comes with Letter of Provenance
Condition:Excellent
(c) John Ryrie / Copyright Agency