David B. Smith Gallery

Artist Statement:

The wildlife familiar to us now coexists with life forms that embody what we have long taken for granted. These mammals and birds are in total control of their future. They are responsible for managing and maintaining their resources without exhausting them.

These paintings are brief lessons in ecology, natural history, and evolution. Through research I gain a better understanding of geography and each animal’s settlement of North America. Once I learn the distribution of specific animals, their social behavior and development, I further their existence in a place that only I can document.

Artist Biography:

Ryan McLennan was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1980. In 2002 he received a BFA from the Painting and Printmaking Department of Virginia Commonwealth University. Since then he has exhibited work in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Richmond, Virginia. He is a recipient of the 2008/2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship and was the 2010 recipient of the West Prize, Grand Prize. McLennan currently lives and works in New York.