May 2 - June 1, 2024

Opening reception: May 2, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Elizabeth Leach Gallery is excited to feature Ryan Pierce in his eighth show with the gallery. This exhibition, entitled Improbable Springs, is bursting with vibrant color and imaginative compositions as the artist repositions humanity’s role on earth. Pierce’s work stimulates the imagination through the wide array of human objects which remain present while celebrating nature’s ability to carry on in spite of us.

Pierce has become known for his climate conscious paintings depicting the near future where nature has begun to thrive again in the absence of humanity as we currently know it. The evidence of human beings are present only in the items left behind, now overrun and forgotten in tangles of vines or blooming flowers. Pierce’s work speaks to the resiliency of nature and these themes are carried on in his newest paintings. 

Improbable Springs is primarily inspired by a six week hike Pierce went on in 2018, traveling from Phoenix, AZ to Silver City, NM. The natural springs scattered along the way were his primary source of water on his journey through the Southwest. The aesthetic of these secluded springs - sometimes marked by wayfinders such as fence posts, stacks of rocks or nothing at all - significantly influenced this new body of work. Water is depicted in many of the paintings, its significance undeniable. The imagery hints at the possibility of past flooding, lingering puddles, possible drought, spartan spigots amidst the wildflowers. There is something hopeful in a future where these springs still exist, that nature continues to persist in these significant ways despite the accelerating climate crisis.

Ryan Pierce received his MFA from California College of the Arts in 2007, and a BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2003. His work has been shown nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at Elizabeth Leach Gallery (Portland, OR), Nine Gallery (Portland, OR) and at Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder (Trondheim, Norway). His work has also been shown in group exhibitions at the Schneider Museum of Art (Ashland, OR), STREAM Gallery (New York, NY), the Henry Art Gallery (Seattle, WA) and at Irvine Contemporary (Washington, DC). In 2019, Pierce was selected to participate in the inaugural exhibition of the Portland Art Museum's regional triennial titled the map is not the territory.