The theme of the rose first surfaced in the work of Will Ryman in 2011 with “The Roses,” a site-specific sculpture series displayed on the malls of Park Avenue consisting of 38 sculptures of rose blossoms. Made of fiberglass and stainless steel, the blossoms rose from street level to as high as 25 feet. Since then the rose has been a throughline in the sculptor’s work, a vector that will arrive on Wednesday at the Parrish Art Museum.
“Shanghai 6,” a monumental rose installation created from stainless steel, fiberglass, and paint that was most recently situated at the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, will be installed in the Parrish’s south meadow, where it will remain through March 31, 2028.
The rose is a universal symbol of love and beauty that has been depicted in art and literature for ages. In Mr. Ryman’s works, roses and petals bloom to an outrageous size, inviting viewers to sit in oversized petals, shed beneath lofty stems that in some cases rise to 24 feet. In this and other works, the artist’s experience as a playwright and theater-set builder creates unusual and sometimes surreal spaces, while at the same time raising questions about the independence and intersection of nature and commerce.
Mr. Ryman, who is represented by the Chart Gallery in TriBeCa, blends diverse materials into expressive forms that examine essential aspects of the human experience, says the gallery.
Humor also often figures in much of his work. Among his sculptures in “New York New York,” a 2022 show at Chart, was “The Exterminator.” Created from wood, resin, mesh, paint, screws, hose, and plastic, it depicts a life-size African-American exterminator wielding the hose of a sprayer over six miniature white men in suits who are fleeing in fear.
The same show included “New York Roses,” a sharply scaled-down mini-rose garden surrounded by U-shaped protective metal tree guards, which are a familiar sight on city sidewalks to discourage dogs and trash bags.
His exhibition “Dinner III” from 2020 was a nearly life-size tableau of figures gathered together in the middle of a meal. The piece features four surreal figures, one headless, others distorted, seated on improvised chairs around a table strewn with half-eaten meals, dinnerware, even an open book. Dogs beg for food. In the gallery installation, other dogs walk around and one takes a nap on a pillow. The installation combines found and sculpted objects, all cast in stainless steel, which fractures the scene as it reflects the viewer in its surfaces.
Mr. Ryman, the son of the prominent artists Robert Ryman and Merrill Wagner, lives and works in New York City and Amagansett. He is currently working on his first monograph, which will include essays by Seth Barrish, Carl Bernstein, Joe Fig, Andrea Glimcher, Eleanor Heartney, Courtney J. Martin, Jérôme Neutres, and Molly Ringwald.
“Shanghai 6” is on loan to the Parrish Art Museum courtesy of Will Ryman and Hyphen, New York.
