“My studio’s a mess. There’s no logical way to organize all this stuff. So when I’m creating, the paper starts flying as I hunt for colors and patterns among the sea of scraps, then cut what I find into the appropriate shapes that fit the painting,” laughs artist Ryan Kohler. “After that, it’s all trial and error.”
Kohler’s studio may be a mess, but the organized chaos and a great rake instead of a broom, keep things contained.
“It’s not a streamlined process, and it’s not practical,” says Kohler. “The upside is that I have clean shapes of pure color and exactly the shape I want.”
“The process and results are a bit like palette knife marks, except I have much more control, and if I don’t like the piece I’ve just added to the painting, I simply remove it,” shares Kohler. “I have a window of time before the glue permanently adheres the paper to the canvas, and even if I am beyond that window, I still have the option to continue gluing more paper to cover up any mistakes I’ve made. ”
“Sometimes that leads to the most interesting results. When layers and layers of paper are added to each other, especially something with patterns, it can look like mixed paint from a distance,” says Kohler. “Again, very cool.”
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Ryan Kohler – INSIGHTS AND STORIES
Ryan also has a collection of videos, including Secretly.