Blood Rose and Mark Ryden

BLOOD ROSE:
About three or four years ago was when I first saw Mark Ryden’s paintings of Blood Rose from his 2003’s exhibit, “BLOOD: Miniature Paintings of Sorrow & Fear”. I was instantly drawn to it, and it became one of my most favorite paintings. What captivated me was how Ryden illustrated pain through the stream of blood coming out of the innocent doe-eyes of a little girl. A portrait of disturbing and dark beauty. A portrait of pain, suffering, and powerlessness in the eyes of a child. A portrait mirroring a glimpse of my soul from three or four years ago.





MARK RYDEN:
One of the most celebrated artists of the Pop Surrealism movement, Mark Ryden is known for his portraits of little girls in a world reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and of the 50’s children’s book Little Golden Books but with the combination of meat, blood, Catholic symbols, and old American carnival which gives his paintings a distinct creepy-candied imagery.

Below are some of his other paintings:

From Ryden’s 2009 “The Snow Yak Show” exhibit


Sophia’s Bubbles



Fur Girl



Grotto of the Old Mass



Long Yak


From Ryden’s 2007 “The Tree Show” exhibit



Girl Eaten by Tree



Fetal Trapping in Northern California



Allegory of the Four Elements



Yoshi



Maple Tree Nymph



Pine Tree Nymph



From Ryden's 2001 “Bunnies and Bees”



The Ringmaster



Jessica’s Hope



The Magic Circus


From Ryden's 1997 "The Meat Show"



A Dog Named Jesus



From Ryden’s 2003 “Blood” exhibit



Fountain



Wound


From Ryden’s Galleries



Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers



Jimi Hendrix



Slayer



"This visual debris from contemporary pop culture contains the specific archetypes that formed my consciousness while living in this particular period in history. I often find archetypes in old children’s books and toys, so these things make up a large part of my collection. I am attracted to things that evoke memories from childhood." – Mark Ryden



For more of Mark Ryden and his art, click here.


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