Fushigi Circus

by Mark Ryden

This collection celebrating the uvre of Mark Ryden features works prior to the Tree Show exhibition and includes 'Blood, Sweat, Tears' and 'The Creatrix'."

Genres: Art, Fantasy, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2006

About the author

Blending themes of pop culture with techniques reminiscent of the old masters, Mark Ryden has created a singular style that blurs the traditional boundaries between high and low art. His work first garnered attention in the 1990s when he ushered in a new genre of painting, "Pop Surrealism", dragging a host of followers in his wake. Ryden has trumped the initial surrealist strategies by choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation.

Ryden’s vocabulary ranges from cryptic to cute, treading a fine line between nostalgic cliché and disturbing archetype. Seduced by his infinitely detailed and meticulously glazed surfaces, the viewer is confronted with the juxtaposition of the childhood innocence and the mysterious recesses of the soul. A subtle disquiet inhabits his paintings; the work is achingly beautiful as it hints at darker psychic stuff beneath the surface of cultural kitsch. In Ryden's world cherubic girls rub elbows with strange and mysterious figures. Ornately carved frames lend the paintings a baroque exuberance that adds gravity to their enigmatic themes.

Mark Ryden received a BFA in 1987 from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, including a retrospective “Wondertoonel” at the Frye Museum of Art in Seattle and Pasadena Museum of California Art, and in the exhibition "The Artist's Museum" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Al McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Ryden is brilliant.
I am so glad I have this volume to check in on when hope is on the wane and my heart needs heartening.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Modern Art scene gets more interesting every day for adherents of narrative imagery and representationalism as craft, skill and imagination return to the forefront of bankable talents.

The visual components of each painting in this book are carefully selected and positioned, but always with the intention of leaving the viewer unsettled,

Mark Ryden comes from a long line of artists and worked for the last decade as an illustrator, producing book covers for the likes of Stephen King and record covers for Ringo Starr, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Michael Jackson. His work is reminiscent in style to classic Salvador Dali.

I can not say that I am a fan, but this book is simply ah-ma-zing!

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art collected inside the pages of "Fushigi Circus" is some of my favorite Mark Ryden work to date. And while each piece is amazingly unique and surreal in the way that Ryden's work always is, several of the previous reviewers are entirely correct: this book is tiny! Tiny, tiny, tiny. It is hard to appreciate an intricate piece of artwork when it has been reduced down to such a miniscule size. I would not trade my copy for the world; it is, afterall, still Mark Ryden and I find his work genius and inspiring. However, I would have gladly paid the extra money to have the book in a sufficient size so that the detail of the work can truly shine through.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Ryden's art combines wide-eyed children with toys, meat, Lincoln, celebrities, and blood. Full of delicate details and beautiful colors, Ryden's pictures are fractured fairy tales, twisted children's stories.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have always admired his work, and had the pleasure of meeting him at the book signing he had at the museum (for this book). A nice comprehensive collection of his art (up to that point). Will never be able to afford the real thing (I wish), so this is an excellent buy for anyone who's a fan.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his art... he is an amazing painter... what more can i say?

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reproductions are a little on the small side, esp. considering the amount of detail in most Ryden paintings. At least it was larger-scale than "Blood"...

[Michael Hawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up and met the man all in a couple hours. This a a great compilation of his work through 2006. If you don't know Ryden yet, just buy this now.

[Tra-Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

The volume itself is beautiful. I found the art disturbing and freakish purely for the sake of being so. I hated it.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful.

[Sara M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Very curious mixture of sweet and cynical.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bizarre but great...Here is a little peep show

http://www.markryden.com/index.html