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The Snow Yak Show
Traverse Mark Ryden's vast wintry landscapes into the frigid domain of the majestic Snow Yak. Images from Ryden's acclaimed Japanese Snow Yak Show are reproduced in large 11" x 14" format, & include many detail images & drawings. Features all of the works, as well as photographs of the work on display.
- GenresArtNonfiction
68 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
77 people want to read
About the author
Mark Ryden
37 books64 followersBlending 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 26, 2018
El libro es un portfolio con las obras de Ryden que nos sumerge de lleno en un mundo invernal de fantasía, criaturas legendarias y niñas melancólicas. Son pinturas que evocan de todo, a veces tranquilidad, a veces inquietud. Me encanta el arte de Ryden, siempre es un placer revisar sus obras.
January 30, 2011
I can’t help it … even when I don’t like Mark Ryden, I love Mark Ryden. That is, even when I don’t like him as much. I miss the riotous circus of his previous work. Yet, it’s okay. All of his early work is still there, in book form, for me to turn back to whenever the mood strikes me, so I accept the evolution of his style to a new simplicity. It is certainly a pleasure to follow him wherever he goes.
Ryden has explored quite a few moods in recent years. From his macabre Blood Show, with children bleeding from their eyes, to the seeming environmentalist-activist Tree Show and now to the zen harmony of The Snow Yak Show. This new series finds him with a pared down color palette and scenic structure. All whites and creams and pale greys and hints of blue and rose. And in almost all the paintings in this series, the scenes are focused on only one or two characters with many of the backgrounds nearly abstracted, which is quite unusual given his compulsive detailing of tableaux in the past.
The tone in The Snow Yak Show is almost entirely peaceful. Most of the paintings find toy-like shaggy yaks (each yak looking quite different in nature to the others) forming friendships with young girls who are far too centered and knowing to be real girls, rather they are spirits (one painting entitled Sophia’s Bubbles, gives us a clue that the girls may represent “wisdom” as Sophia is an ancient Greek word used throughout Greek philosophy and Christian mysticism to represent God’s wisdom). Admittedly, I do get a little uncomfortable with the nudity of young girls that Ryden often paints, however, fortunately, the girls do not seem sexualized so much as representations of the feminine spirit, and they are painted rather reverentially and with power.
Every Ryden painting has a glow and a resonance to it, a mythic quality that points to mysteries one can never quite identify. There is always a beauty in his work, and that beauty to me goes beyond his vivid detail; it is the beauty created by triggering a deep sense of imagination in the viewer. I know his paintings inspire me creatively.
Perhaps it was because of the limited content of the scenes in these paintings, but I was left with a little bit of cotton candy in my mouth compared to Ryden’s last show, which I reviewed here. I had a less visceral reaction to this work than I did to The Tree Show. Even so, Ryden’s work stands head and shoulders above most contemporary artists. A true master.
From The Snow Yak Show:
Ryden has explored quite a few moods in recent years. From his macabre Blood Show, with children bleeding from their eyes, to the seeming environmentalist-activist Tree Show and now to the zen harmony of The Snow Yak Show. This new series finds him with a pared down color palette and scenic structure. All whites and creams and pale greys and hints of blue and rose. And in almost all the paintings in this series, the scenes are focused on only one or two characters with many of the backgrounds nearly abstracted, which is quite unusual given his compulsive detailing of tableaux in the past.
The tone in The Snow Yak Show is almost entirely peaceful. Most of the paintings find toy-like shaggy yaks (each yak looking quite different in nature to the others) forming friendships with young girls who are far too centered and knowing to be real girls, rather they are spirits (one painting entitled Sophia’s Bubbles, gives us a clue that the girls may represent “wisdom” as Sophia is an ancient Greek word used throughout Greek philosophy and Christian mysticism to represent God’s wisdom). Admittedly, I do get a little uncomfortable with the nudity of young girls that Ryden often paints, however, fortunately, the girls do not seem sexualized so much as representations of the feminine spirit, and they are painted rather reverentially and with power.
Every Ryden painting has a glow and a resonance to it, a mythic quality that points to mysteries one can never quite identify. There is always a beauty in his work, and that beauty to me goes beyond his vivid detail; it is the beauty created by triggering a deep sense of imagination in the viewer. I know his paintings inspire me creatively.
Perhaps it was because of the limited content of the scenes in these paintings, but I was left with a little bit of cotton candy in my mouth compared to Ryden’s last show, which I reviewed here. I had a less visceral reaction to this work than I did to The Tree Show. Even so, Ryden’s work stands head and shoulders above most contemporary artists. A true master.
From The Snow Yak Show:
January 23, 2012
Please do not get me wrong: the artwork inside "The Snow Yak Show" by Mark Ryden echoes gorgeous, surrealist fantasy that we have all come to know and love from this man. Unfortunately, while the book measures in at a nice substantial size, the paintings and illustrations herein number few (only 27 pages contain artwork). There are 10 graphite illustrations (the largest of which is approx. 5x7) and 9 oil paintings, several of which provide full-page close-ups or multi-page renderings. All of the work is gorgeous and sticks with the "Snow Yak" and winter theme.
Overall, I find it a lovely, inspiring collection and was happy to add it to my bookshelves. However, if you are picky about your art books (size, quantity of art therein, etc.), perhaps you should venture to your local bookstore to sneak a peak before purchasing.
Overall, I find it a lovely, inspiring collection and was happy to add it to my bookshelves. However, if you are picky about your art books (size, quantity of art therein, etc.), perhaps you should venture to your local bookstore to sneak a peak before purchasing.
October 24, 2015
I love Mark Ryden and this collection is beautiful. He manages to do so much with such simple colours. And while he uses cartoon styles, they can become scarily hyper realistic! Creepy and beautiful. - Grace
January 21, 2018
Didn't like it as much as "The Gay 90's", but Ryden's art is too fantastic to give a lesser rating.
April 21, 2019
i own like, three copies
December 23, 2017
Surrealista, fantasioso, artístico, abstracto, bello o feo, raro y nostálgico, son algunas de las palabras que describe este libro. Las pinturas son preciosas, sin ninguna palabra plasmada en él, más que la explicación al final de la inspiración del artista, se logra cautivar y contar una historia que muchos libros no hacen. Y se reitera, de la vista nace el amor.
April 18, 2024
Definitely one to add to your collection if you're a fan of surrealism.
Personally, I would've preferred more text on each painting but it's also worth noting that Ryden prefers keeping his works open to interpretation. Ambiguity is a hallmark of his.
This book collects the works in the Snow Yak show in high resolution. We are blessed with close ups as well as the regular full-lengths and at the very end, there is a collation of reference images he used. There are a couple of pages explaining how he was inspired by plush toys and Japanese culture for these works. It also talks about some of the characters in the pieces and his reason for naming them a certain way.
A good collection, I just wanted more.
Personally, I would've preferred more text on each painting but it's also worth noting that Ryden prefers keeping his works open to interpretation. Ambiguity is a hallmark of his.
This book collects the works in the Snow Yak show in high resolution. We are blessed with close ups as well as the regular full-lengths and at the very end, there is a collation of reference images he used. There are a couple of pages explaining how he was inspired by plush toys and Japanese culture for these works. It also talks about some of the characters in the pieces and his reason for naming them a certain way.
A good collection, I just wanted more.
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April 24, 2013I'm not sure how to rate this book so I will leave this starless.
The book is a beauty. It's what catches one's eye. Some of the drawings are beautiful and for that alone I'd give it five stars. There was no story to the book I looked at so the pictures could be the only thing I could rate it on.
However, and here a big HOWEVER for me, I was disturbed by some of the pictures contained in this book. I actually shut the book closed when I got to about the third drawing. I almost felt like some kind of dirty pervert looking at it. Some of the pictures veer on the edge of child pornography to me. Needless to say, I felt dirty after looking at this book and all I kept wondering is how someone would have been able to get away with publishing this. Someone could very well argue the drawings are cartoonish, and therefore we cannot tell the age of the girls in these pictures, but they look like young girls. I can't even rate this a one star as this went beyond disliking this book. I just found this book disturbing.
The book is a beauty. It's what catches one's eye. Some of the drawings are beautiful and for that alone I'd give it five stars. There was no story to the book I looked at so the pictures could be the only thing I could rate it on.
However, and here a big HOWEVER for me, I was disturbed by some of the pictures contained in this book. I actually shut the book closed when I got to about the third drawing. I almost felt like some kind of dirty pervert looking at it. Some of the pictures veer on the edge of child pornography to me. Needless to say, I felt dirty after looking at this book and all I kept wondering is how someone would have been able to get away with publishing this. Someone could very well argue the drawings are cartoonish, and therefore we cannot tell the age of the girls in these pictures, but they look like young girls. I can't even rate this a one star as this went beyond disliking this book. I just found this book disturbing.
February 4, 2022
My god. Absolutely fucking mindblowing. GET IT.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews