Ryan Schroeder

Artist Statement

Time is the dominant idea of my work. I think of my work as psychological realms that depict elements of reality. I am drawn to the concept of subtraction; the removal of material things from a place, or the removal of individuals from their dwellings. I consider myself a voyeur of these scenes, watching quietly from a distance. Many of the paintings aim to convey the idea of recalling a memory and the inevitable loss of bits of it. My art is about recalling an experience in pieces, yet trying to assemble the whole in hindsight.

My most recent work depicts life from another angle. This body of paintings is about discovering the world anew, with and through the eyes of a child. From sunup to sundown, we are learning about the world: different characters, places, and sensations. Some paintings reflect moments of daily life. More broadly, my work engages themes of chaos, loss, and mental health. Cultural erasure, war, socioeconomic changes, the outsourcing of jobs, and deindustrialization are also topics in the work.