I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been: Ryan Wilks, Opening Reception

The Bureau is pleased to present I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been, a solo exhibition of work by Ryan Wilks.

Opening reception: September 14, 2023, 6-8 PM

Exhibition dates: September 14 – November 19, 2023

Ryan Wilks is an artist working out of Kansas City. They delight in the dirty-schoolboy-like quality of drawing crude and beautifully executed illustrations of their deepest perversions. Though much of their work contains phallic imagery, the execution and delicacy used to construct the human figure leads way to pause after a quick laugh. But the themes of Wilks’ work are much more thoughtful than a dick and fart joke. Their bodies of work weave in and out from themes of sexual celebration to the rampant Christian opposition to queer existence in America, from prayer to, most recently, rage.

This body of work titled, I Cannot Begin to Tell You How Angry I’ve Been, is a visual meandering of ire. As we all approach the collapsing ecology of the world, what does it mean to be heartbroken or to grieve the loss of a planned future? How do we hold and pursue our ambition while holding the prognosis of climate change, warnings of global crop failure, and no clean water by 2040? It feels trivial to hope for artistic success during a struggle for survival, and yet here they are, striving. This work is a space holder for both realities. Hope and Despair.