LOT L8 MARK RYDEN / LINCOLN MEAT CART, 2012 Porcelain sculpture 14 x 14 x 9 inches (35.6 x 35.6 x 22.9 cm) Auction estimate: $60,000 Gift of the artist and Michael Kohn Gallery Upon first glance, Mark Ryden's work seems to mirror the Surrealists' fascination with the subconscious and collective memories. However, Ryden transcends the initial Surrealists' strategies by consciously choosing subject matter loaded with cultural connotation. His dewy vixens, cuddly plush pets, alchemical symbols, religious emblems, primordial landscapes, and slabs of meat challenge his audience, not necessarily with their own oddity, but with the introduction of their soothing cultural familiarity into unsettling circumstances. Two of Ryden's major themes collide in Lincoln Meat Cart: The figure of Abe Lincoln, and raw, mouthwatering cuts of steak. Ryden's work is not only inspired by recent history and American cultural iconography, but also the works of past masters. The result is a strange and sometimes challenging, but always hauntingly beautiful, work of art steeped in the lessons of art history. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, where he works slowly and happily amidst his countless collections of trinkets, statues, skeletons, books, paintings, and antique toys. PREV   8 OF 49   NEXT