Artist Kathleen Ryan doesn’t shy away from the inevitable. Her captivating sculptures take the form of rotting fruit, not in a grotesque way, but in a strangely beautiful one. These larger-than-life creations are meticulously crafted, featuring all the wrinkles, blemishes, and imperfections that come with decay. But here’s the twist: Ryan adorns these decaying forms with hundreds of glass beads and gemstones, transforming them into glittering testaments to the impermanence of beauty.
Ryan’s work goes beyond mere aesthetics. The rotting fruit serves as an allegory for sexuality, decadence, and the natural cycle of life. The dazzling jewels represent wealth and excess, but their placement on decaying fruit hints at the fleeting nature of these things. There’s a deeper commentary here as well, with the uneven distribution of the beads reflecting the growing wealth disparity and its impact on the environment. Ryan’s bejeweled rot is a powerful reminder that even the most beautiful things eventually succumb to decay, prompting us to contemplate our own mortality and the choices we make.
The sculptures are beautiful and pleasurable, but there’s an ugliness and unease that comes with them. (…) They’re not just opulent, there’s an inherent sense of decline built into them, which is also something that’s happening in the world: The economy is inflating, but so is wealth inequality, all at the expense of the environment.
Kathleen Ryan
More info: Website, Instagram (h/t: The New York Times, Designboom).
