Ryan Cosbert:

The Past Is The Future And The Future Is Now

November 11 – December 10, 2022

Opening Reception: Friday, November 11, 2022, 7-9pm

Presented at the Historic Rail Park at Pullman Yards

225 Rogers Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30317

Thursday to Saturday, 11:00am – 4:00pm

UTA Artist Space Atlanta announces the next two artists in its series of pop-up exhibitions. Two emerging female painters, Ryan Cosbert and Braden Hollis, will take over UTA Artist Space’s temporary home at Atlanta’s historic Pullman Yards in November and December, respectively. The pop-up presentations anticipate the launch of UTA Artist Space’s new gallery in the city’s Midtown area in early 2023, marking its second permanent location outside its native Los Angeles.

A recent graduate of The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City and a New York native, Ryan Cosbert has become increasingly recognized for her work that researches the history and people of the African diaspora. Her paintings are notable for their layered approach, composed in a grid-like format using what the artist calls “tiles” to create geometrical balance. She forms different layers using the tiles, paints, and physical objects that range from photographic portraits to bullet casings, glass beads, and flower petals to give the work more depth and three-dimensional composition.

On view at UTA Artist Space this November will be new paintings that continue Cosbert’s research into people of African descent, but here she explores the travel and movements of the African American community.

The artist states: “When it comes to this body of work, I would like to revisit topics I lightly covered while expanding the physicality of the paintings. Revisiting some of my older techniques and mixing them with my new process. Realizing old is new and new is old. The past is the present and the present is future. Things that have affected us and our ancestors in the past are still here in the present whether we want to address them or not. Paying homage to unsung Black heroes is a way to show our progress and to document how our history will remain lost unless we go out and find it… we have accomplished many extraordinary things that we have been told can not be done. My goal is to enlighten and inspire.”