%20by%20dave%20reilander.jpg)
r y a n l e g a s s i c k e
Ryan Legassicke is a contemporary Canadian artist whose practice combines aspects of art, design and material culture. Ryan was born in Toronto, Canada in 1979 and grew up in the neighboring suburb of Pickering. He currently lives and works in Toronto, and exhibits both locally and nationally.
Ryan studied at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, Alberta, graduating with a BFA in 2002. He also studied at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario (dip. 2000). Selected exhibitions include Everyday Living and Other Helpful Hints at LOOP gallery in Toronto (2006); Riverlands at Gallery 96 in Stratford, Ontario (2005); Piano Works, (curated by Gil McElroy) The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario (2003) and Looking Forward (curated by Paul Greenhaugh) destinations included The McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton (2000/01). Ryan has also been included in a number of off site exhibitions including Come Up to My Room at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto (2005, 2006) and Alley Jaunt in garages and alleys in Toronto (2005).
"The main focus of my work is investigating the ways in which ideas are communicated through various processes of sculpture, drawing and photography. I am interested in the way that this act of communication contributes to the understanding of the nature of perception and the process of making sense of the world.
How our experience with representations informs and affects our experience with actual things and vice versa is a central theme of my artwork. This involves examining the material quality of images in contrast to the surface quality of materials. Focus is placed on the phenomenon of déjà vu, memory and the transition from experience to belief. My approach involves highlighting connections between corresponding objects, images and the contexts with which they are found. I have worked with common materials such as trees, glass and print media in relation to their history, means of production and our interaction with them. The use of double views, mirror images, 1:1 scale, positive and negative space act as a means of exposing tensions and contradictions between the convergence of discovered and invented realities. My goal is to create, record and occasionally blur moments in time while providing a way to experience ourselves becoming involved in those moments.
Early studies in furniture design greatly influenced my interest in material culture. During this time I began to question the authenticity of experience. This was influenced by the work of Giuseppe Penone and Arte Povera as well as British artist David Nash. I also became aware how I could affect the way my work would be seen by altering its method of representation. This was influenced by Robert Irwin and the Light and Space Movement along with the photographic inquiries of David Hockney. Since then I have become fascinated with how these ideas relate to our experience of everyday life. Other aesthetic and conceptual influences range from skateboarding to The Simpsons; and from the band Sonic Youth to the nagual art of William S. Burroughs." - RL 2007
Ryan has work in the permanent collection of The Thunder Bay Art Gallery (2002). Awards include best sculpture and best of show for an installation/performance at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (2001). In 2003 he worked as a teaching assistant for a workshop led by British sculptor David Nash at North Lands Creative Glass in Scotland. Images of Ryan's work have been featured in publications such as Metropolis Magazine (New York, 2005) and Azure Magazine (Toronto, 2005). In 2004 he self published a flip book with was exhibited along with corresponding sculpture and paintings at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.
"... This is Wood by Ryan Legassicke may answer the theme of the Looking Forward exhibition best. Made of two pieces of rough-hewn, cantilevered maple, one of them projecting outward sixteen feet, it is able to support weight, yet seems to defy gravity. It amplifies and celebrates the most important structural element in woodworking, the joint, in this case the lap joint, which occupies a relatively humble position within the hierarchy of cabinetmaking. Such concentration on the act of connecting disparate elements is a wonderful displacement from the traditional emphasis placed on the beauty of the object. The acknowledgement of action over finished form, of creative activity as a verb rather than a noun, mines the traditions and history of craft in an inventive and potent way and suggests a promising direction for contemporary art work." - excerpt from The Object Talks Back by Ingrid Bachmann, part of the catalog for the exhibition Looking Forward curated by Paul Greenhaugh, edited by Susan Warner Keene.
Professional activities, awards,
collections, etc.
- website credits: image one this page from left to right: Dave Reilander 2002; Alex Johnson 2001; Robyn Clarke 2005; all other images are by me (ryan legassicke) unless otherwise noted. this site was designed and is maintained by RDL 2004-present (i'm no webmaster...) You can write to me by going to the contact page.. I will update this site as much as possible. Thanks.